The Full Monty must rank as the most unamusing British comedy ever made (and we have made some distinctly awful ones). The central plot (six men made redundant so strip to make some cash) is patronizing and in the worst taste, as for a film which is considered to be part-comedy, part-social observation it looks at the central characters from an astonishingly right-wing angle.
SPOILER: The character Reg, who auditions for the troupe and fails (He can't "get his kit off properly") is discarded from the film once he has provided a 'laugh' at his situation; the situation being that he has no job, no future and fails at this last-ditch venture. I'm sorry, but I don't find this very amusing.
Only the 'enterprising', Thatcherite characters are successful in this movie, which might well have carried the motto "who dares wins". The Full Monty carries the message that it doesn't matter what ill-fortune comes your way, one must be daring, entepreneurial, and business minded. Not ONCE does the movie cast a glance at the reason why the men are redundant, that isn't on the agenda. It's just the way it is, and one must adapt to it. Again, I didn't find this very funny.
ANOTHER SPOILER: The films condescending outlook is complete in the scene at the JobClub (which is nothing like the real-life JobClubs, these lads get off lightly in comparison) when only one in six men knew what 10 x 1000 was, and even then he took time to do the mental arithmetic. It has become a regular feature in these 'sympathetic' British working-class comedies; the working-class are allowed to drink, smoke, swear and even expose their genitalia, but they are still unable to think.
The final indictment of the film is the hastily drawn characters. They were basically cardboard-cutouts, with Gaz (the 'lad'), Dave (the 'fat one'), Gerald (the 'one with the problems') and three other pointless characters. Robert Carlyle (a fine actor) struggled with such an under-developed character, and other great British actors (Tom Wilkinson and Lesley Sharp) were given little to play with. 'Raining Stones', 'A Room For Romeo Brass', 'Smalltime' and 'Riff Raff' offer social commentary and many belly laughs. The Full Monty tries, but offers neither.
SPOILER: The character Reg, who auditions for the troupe and fails (He can't "get his kit off properly") is discarded from the film once he has provided a 'laugh' at his situation; the situation being that he has no job, no future and fails at this last-ditch venture. I'm sorry, but I don't find this very amusing.
Only the 'enterprising', Thatcherite characters are successful in this movie, which might well have carried the motto "who dares wins". The Full Monty carries the message that it doesn't matter what ill-fortune comes your way, one must be daring, entepreneurial, and business minded. Not ONCE does the movie cast a glance at the reason why the men are redundant, that isn't on the agenda. It's just the way it is, and one must adapt to it. Again, I didn't find this very funny.
ANOTHER SPOILER: The films condescending outlook is complete in the scene at the JobClub (which is nothing like the real-life JobClubs, these lads get off lightly in comparison) when only one in six men knew what 10 x 1000 was, and even then he took time to do the mental arithmetic. It has become a regular feature in these 'sympathetic' British working-class comedies; the working-class are allowed to drink, smoke, swear and even expose their genitalia, but they are still unable to think.
The final indictment of the film is the hastily drawn characters. They were basically cardboard-cutouts, with Gaz (the 'lad'), Dave (the 'fat one'), Gerald (the 'one with the problems') and three other pointless characters. Robert Carlyle (a fine actor) struggled with such an under-developed character, and other great British actors (Tom Wilkinson and Lesley Sharp) were given little to play with. 'Raining Stones', 'A Room For Romeo Brass', 'Smalltime' and 'Riff Raff' offer social commentary and many belly laughs. The Full Monty tries, but offers neither.
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