The Full Monty

• Directed by Peter Cattaneo
• August 13, 1997 (US; limited) / August 29, 1997 (UK)

Six unemployed men decide to form a male striptease act to make some money by giving the audience ‘the full monty’.

As a story, The Full Monty though a comedy is more than something silly. This gets into unemployment, fathers’ rights, depression, impotence, homosexuality, body image, and suicide. Despite such serious things it is rather humorous and very heartfelt.

It’s a story about men who lost that special something that makes them feel like men and want to get it back. For some it is a job. For others it is just following through or getting a person to believe they can do something. Then there is feeling attractive or just that they could be attractive even if they understand they could never be like the Chippendale dancers that inspired the whole idea. This cast of characters are in the midst of so much failure and weakness in their dying industrial town that it has creeped into them.

Casting is always important in any movie. What were cast here were talented character actors. Nobody was exceedingly dashing or handsome (or even close in a traditional way). Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer all look like people you could find in everyday life. They do not have the leading man or Hollywood look. That mixed with heavy slang gives this a level of authenticity like you are watching something as it happened.

This movie communicates working class in away American films no longer can. You believe you are watching these people as they navigate the situation. That’s a credit to the directing of Peter Cattaneo and the acting but also as I said before the casting. There’s something to be said for location shooting to give anything that sense of reality.

Gary ‘Gaz’ Schofield (Robert Carlyle) is a dad that is just not very good at being one. He’s a scammer and generally a thief. His saving grace is that he does love his son Nathan (William Snape). He may never be a great dad that remembers the important details, but he will always be there for his son. The thought of losing him because he has no work or money spurs the idea.

Gaz’s friend Dave (Mark Addy) is suffering impotence which is affecting everything. Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) has not only kept his unemployment from his wife but there is just a general thread of poor communication between the two. The Full Monty contains human stuff we can all identify with in some aspect.

What this does is expertly and without force is introduce two homosexual characters. Lomper (Steve Huison) is a suicidal security guard at the closed steel mill where most of the characters that is saved by Gaz and Dave. He lives with his mother and plays in the still active factory band. Guy (Hugo Speer) is just a random local that auditions and proves to be rather well endowed. The two connect when a passing police officer stumbles on the group practicing causing them to scatter with the two finding themselves alone in a room. It just is another part of this life experience story this group of people are going through. It’s just so smooth and natural that you barely notice it. I don’t mean that like it’s hidden. There was no need to shine a spotlight on the moment.

For a comedy there is so much gold in The Full Monty. One of the funniest moments is when Gaz is about to go on stage and he’s full on panicking. Even he didn’t think it could truly happen and when confronted with the reality he’s ready to check it out. Success is scary. It is realistic yet humorous.

Right then Peter Cattaneo could have made the story all about Gaz by focusing on his character when he finally goes on, but the camera does not. Gaz set the idea in motion but he is largely in the background. It’s a simple yet effective way to make the climax all about the members of the group finally achieving the goal and getting a little bit something back that they lost.

With understandable motivations and feelings and a look of authenticity many films can’t achieve today, The Full Monty is an excellent movie. It’s a funny and heartfelt film that everyone should see.