Monk (TV Series) Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion (2006) User Reviews

'Captain Cool' To The Rescue

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 3 August 2007]

Capt. Stottlemeyer must be learning from Monk, because he makes some astute judgments right off the bat, examining a scene in which a woman fell down a flight of stairs and apparently killed herself in the fall. Of course, from the opening scene, we know the woman was pushed down the stairs by a man. A lapel pin found under the victim indicates she was on her way to her 25th college class reunion. Guess who else is going to that reunion?

Soon, the detectives figure out that lapel pin belonged to the killer, not the woman who was nurse at the school, not a student.

Meanwhile, we witness awkward moments at the reunion as Monk recognizes a lot of people but they have no clue who he is, but some remember Monk's nickname: "Captain Cool." (You'll have to watch to find out how he got that name!)

The episode was either of two extremes, regarding its dialog. It was either really stupid and silly or it was funny and warmly nostalgic. Murder case-wise, it was dumb, but it had a nice flashback feature showing Monk as a college student when he first met Trudy.

Plot summary

[ynot-16 · 9/10 · 17 September 2008]

Before Monk's college reunion, a beloved school nurse is murdered. Monk attends the reunion and, of course, solves the murder, and also saves the life of a classmate in danger. There are frequent flashbacks to Monk's college days.

This is a great episode, marred only by the plot device of an improbable talent Monk has of being able to tell what is written when someone uses his back as a table on which to write a note.

In this episode, we get to see Monk's first meeting with Trudy, and the blossoming of their relationship. In a sweet and poignant subplot, he triumphs over competition who is much smoother than he. We also get to see how the other college students viewed Monk, and how he got the nickname "Captain Cool." Sadly, but appropriately, it was not because they admired his hipness.

A hilarious moment occurs when Capt. Stottlemeyer is exposed for his role in an unpopular police action in his younger days. The episode is worth watching for that alone.

It's college reunion time with Mr Monk

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 19 August 2017]

'Monk' has always been one of my most watched shows when needing comfort, to relax after a hard day, a good laugh or a way to spend a lazy weekend.

"Mr Monk and the Class Reunion" is another Season 5 winner. It's enormously entertaining, affectionately nostalgic and intriguing. It is not quite one of my favourite 'Monk' episodes, but it is a long way from being one of the worst. To me, up to this point in 'Monk' (so from the beginning to this episode) the only average or less episodes were "Mr Monk and the Missing Granny", which went overboard on the ridiculousness, and particularly "Mr Monk and the Big Reward", which didn't feel like 'Monk' at all.

The mystery is not difficult to figure out, if one looks closely and adds things up the murderer is obvious. It was however very cleverly plotted, with an elaborate set-up/plan and a knockout climax that is a big surprise. Disher's increasing stupidity and childishness has quickly gotten annoying over the course of just three episodes, am aware that he was always comic relief and never was the brightest bulb on the block but he wasn't as much an idiot as in this and the previous two episodes. Only when he tells Stottlemeyer the reasons for ruling out a suspect is funny, which is a Season 5 comedic highlight actually if more for Stottlemeyer's reaction.

Shining even more are the character moments, there are many hilarious moments here. Mostly with Monk, but one of the biggest laughs (another Season 5 highlight) comes in the form of Stottlemeyer being exposed for something that goes down like a lead balloon with those present. With Monk, standout moments are with the freezer, the dorm room door, the registration form and in the college cafeteria.

As said many times, one of the best things about 'Monk' has always been the acting of Tony Shalhoub in the title role. It was essential for him to work and be the glue of the show, and Shalhoub not only is that but also at his very best he IS the show. Have always loved the balance of the humour, which is often hilarious, and pathos, which is sincere and touching.

Natalie is down to earth, sympathetic and sassy, also being sensitive to Monk's needs and quirks which Traylor Howard does well bringing out. Jason Gray-Stanford and Ted Levine are good as usual as Disher and Stottlemeyer. The supporting cast are solid, particularly Cynthia Stevenson and Brian McNamara.

It's not just the cast or story though. Another star is the writing, which is also essential to whether the show would be successful or not and succeed it does here. The mix of wry humour, lovable quirkiness and tender easy-to-relate-to drama is delicately done, particularly the last one. The quirks are sympathetically done and never exploited or overdone.

Visually, the episode is shot in a slick and stylish way, and the music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now. Oh and a good job is done with the different opening credits sequence to accommodate the changes made.

In summation, great episode on the whole. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Great Show -- excellent casting

[SkipXXX · 10/10 · 12 August 2006]

Great show -- nice to see Cynthia Stevenson -- she was fun -- and then the flashback to his and Trudi's college days. And then to find out his college nickname 'Cool Man' and what it meant. So this show had a lot more going for it other than just the regular murder mystery -- it had a lot the younger Monk. All in all it was a very sweet show -- plus how Natalie showed up to support him through his first class reunion without Trudi. Watching Monk play 'touch' football was really extra fun -- a lesson in how to hike a ball without touching it! I didn't know that Monk could tell what was written on his back -- nice how they made this little known fact out before it played out in the plot..

Very moving, especially with the Trudi flashbacks

[safenoe · 8/10 · 20 April 2020]

This episode screened just months after Twitter was invented, and I'd love to see the tweets about Monk in the day. This episode doesn't disappoint. The ending is quite poignant, especially with flashbacks of how Monk met Trudi in the university library. Here Natalie's character grows, with the emotional support she provides to Monk. The actress who played Natalia, Traylor Howard, earlier starred in a USA Network series Boston Common, another favorite of mine.

Heavy on Trudy

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 4 April 2020]

This was OK. It seemed odd that Monk, who can barely leave home, would subject himself to the nastiness of a class reunion. It was also pretty hard to believe that no one would even recognize him. Honestly, he looks just like his younger self. Also, this is Berkeley where there would have been some unconventional types who would have gravitated toward him. I know it was all about Trudy, but it' getting harder and harder to see yet another drop into his depressed world.

Mr Monk's Bittersweet Class Reunion

[danrs000008 · 6/10 · 11 March 2021]

1. It was very interesting learning some insights into Monk's college days. Of course the best part of college for Monk was the time he spent with Trudy.

2. High point of this episode is when former classmates continue laughing at Monk, but Natalie returns, stands close to Monk and affectionately takes hold of his arm. There were times when Sharona gave encouragement to Monk, but here Natalie is unmatched as she shows love and support for a friend.

3. I especially enjoyed seeing Cynthia Stevenson. She and Taylor Howard are both slim and have cute petite faces. They both looked great while sitting together on a bench for a few moments.

The plot to re-create the elements of a suicide note was rather awkward and far-fetched, but the rest of this story was very entertaining.

Not bad but not great either.

[michaelchikliscares · 7/10 · 13 August 2019]

Not my favorite episode to be honest. It drags on , the guy who obviously is the killer and wants to re-act the letter from the depression she had. The case dragged on for me but the Trudy flashbacks were great , Monk not meshing basically with no one in the reunion was a nice touch to make us feel empathy towards Adrian way and his OCD.

I do like episodes where Natalie , Stottlemeyer and Disher are not left out completely.

This episode, actually sucks

[snickzella · 2/10 · 26 June 2022]

The scenes where Monk tries to connect with his old class mates, despite him remembering them, but they don't, is actually pretty relatable and sad. Which is something a lot people can relate to and, Tony Shalhoub's performance here is excellent.

But when you take out the good stuff, (in which there is so little), you have one of the most moronic mysteries and murder plans ever.

A guy finds a suicide letter his wife wrote when she was in college, and wants to reenact all the details in the letter, so he can kill her, leave the note (like it was just recently written), so he can get insurance money and go be with the woman he's having an affair with.

This is yet again another asinine mystery that is so far fetch, plus, even if the guy has succeeded in his plans, simply looking at the age of the paper of the suicide note, would be enough to raise a few eye brows.

There is a good episode here that has been truncated and anchored down by a really bad mystery.

Worst episode ever

[Zime01 · 1/10 · 21 March 2010]

Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion starts with that a retired school nurse gets pushed down the stairs by a man and soon you understand that it has to have something to do with Monks class reunion. The episode is very weak and it seems like it was written by a seven year old kid, who hasn't read or seen any mysteries in his/hers life. Every piece of the puzzle are so obvious that you can spot it long before it actually happens. And you can figure out who the killer is very quickly.

I normally thinks that Monk are fun show to watch but when it's to much focus on Monks behavior, it gets a bit tiresome and in this case plain awful.