The British humorist Denis Norden, noticing that many war films were about a motley group of men learning to fight together as a crack unit, once suggested making what he called a "peacetime war film" about a formation dancing team who learn to work together in a similar way. Norden's suggestion was intended to be facetious, but "The Full Monty" in fact comes pretty close to realising it, with the important twist that all the dancers are male and their dancing involves taking their clothes off. In addition, it also includes elements from three other genres- the gritty, social-realist drama about working-class people facing up to adversity, the "Flashdance" or "Billy Elliott"-type drama about how working-class people find fulfilment through cultural activities, and finally what might be called the Great British Smut Comedy, like a sex comedy but with the erotic element watered down, the sort of film in which the mere mention of sex or nudity is considered amusing.
The title is a British slang expression meaning, roughly, "the whole amount", but in this context it refers to a dilemma facing the central characters, a group of unemployed steelworkers who, in a desperate attempt to earn some money, form themselves into a male striptease troupe. The question they have to decide is whether or not to do the "full Monty"- that is to say, pose completely naked. In many ways, however, they are an unlikely group of strippers. Their leading light, Gary, is too thin. Dave is too fat. Horse is too old. The oddly-named Lomper is too weedy (and suicidally depressed into the bargain). Guy is young and good-looking, but has no dance skills or sense of rhythm. The only one, in fact, with any previous experience of dancing is Gerald, but there are two problems with him. First, he is even older than Horse. Second, the others all cordially dislike him because of his snobbery. (He was the foreman before the factory closed down, and regards himself as being their social superior).
Scenes of the group rehearsing their routines are intercut with subplots about the private lives of its members. Gary is divorced, and needs the money from his striptease routine to pay child support to his ex-wife. Dave and his wife Jean are still together, but his being out of work is putting strain on their marriage, and he can no longer perform sexually. Gerald is too proud, or too frightened, to admit to his wife - who thinks that he still has a job- that he is unemployed.
The film is set in Sheffield, an industrial city in Northern England once famous for steel production, but by the time of the film badly hit by the decline of the industry and by unemployment. It opens with an excerpt from one of those fatuously optimistic documentaries from the sixties, explaining in the tone of voice familiar from Soviet-bloc propaganda films what an exciting, vibrant place Sheffield is thanks to the steel industry. It then cuts to shots of a depressed, run-down modern city. In fact, by the late nineties unemployment levels in Britain were relatively low, much lower than they had been at their peak in the early eighties, but even today there remain blackspots where it is difficult to find work except for derisory wages.
The film has some similarities with another British film about unemployment, "Brassed Off" from the previous year, which features a group of miners facing redundancy and their colliery band. Of the two, in fact, I tended to prefer "Brassed Off", which dealt with unemployment in a more serious, less jokey way, while at the same time celebrating an important element of working-class culture. Nevertheless, it was "The Full Monty" which went on to become the highest-grossing British film of all time, whereas "Brassed Off" was a much more modest success- possibly its political stance was too overtly left-wing for the American market.
"The Full Monty" does, however, have some good acting performances, particularly from Robert Carlyle as Gary and Tom Wilkinson as Gerald. Gary is outwardly a rough diamond, embittered both by the loss of his job and by the breakdown of his marriage. To be fair, he does have a lot to be bitter about. His ex-wife Mandy left him when he became unemployed and now lives in comparative middle-class affluence with her new lover. Despite this, she still mercilessly pursues Gary for child support, knowing full well that he cannot pay. This is not, perhaps, a film that will appeal to feminists; Gerald's spendthrift, credit-card obsessed wife Linda is portrayed as equally mercenary. Gary also has some virtues such as his loyalty to his former workmates and his deep affection for his young son Nathan. At first Gerald comes across as arrogant and snobbish, but later on he becomes more human and approachable, becoming friendly with the other dancers as he comes to recognise their good qualities. When Gerald- alone of all the troupe- finds a new job near the end of the film both they- and the audience- are happy for him.
"The Full Monty" is not a particularly deep film, nor a particularly original one, relying heavily as it does on clichés about working-class life in Northern England. It is, however, an enjoyable one, sometimes humorous, sometimes touching. 6/10
The title is a British slang expression meaning, roughly, "the whole amount", but in this context it refers to a dilemma facing the central characters, a group of unemployed steelworkers who, in a desperate attempt to earn some money, form themselves into a male striptease troupe. The question they have to decide is whether or not to do the "full Monty"- that is to say, pose completely naked. In many ways, however, they are an unlikely group of strippers. Their leading light, Gary, is too thin. Dave is too fat. Horse is too old. The oddly-named Lomper is too weedy (and suicidally depressed into the bargain). Guy is young and good-looking, but has no dance skills or sense of rhythm. The only one, in fact, with any previous experience of dancing is Gerald, but there are two problems with him. First, he is even older than Horse. Second, the others all cordially dislike him because of his snobbery. (He was the foreman before the factory closed down, and regards himself as being their social superior).
Scenes of the group rehearsing their routines are intercut with subplots about the private lives of its members. Gary is divorced, and needs the money from his striptease routine to pay child support to his ex-wife. Dave and his wife Jean are still together, but his being out of work is putting strain on their marriage, and he can no longer perform sexually. Gerald is too proud, or too frightened, to admit to his wife - who thinks that he still has a job- that he is unemployed.
The film is set in Sheffield, an industrial city in Northern England once famous for steel production, but by the time of the film badly hit by the decline of the industry and by unemployment. It opens with an excerpt from one of those fatuously optimistic documentaries from the sixties, explaining in the tone of voice familiar from Soviet-bloc propaganda films what an exciting, vibrant place Sheffield is thanks to the steel industry. It then cuts to shots of a depressed, run-down modern city. In fact, by the late nineties unemployment levels in Britain were relatively low, much lower than they had been at their peak in the early eighties, but even today there remain blackspots where it is difficult to find work except for derisory wages.
The film has some similarities with another British film about unemployment, "Brassed Off" from the previous year, which features a group of miners facing redundancy and their colliery band. Of the two, in fact, I tended to prefer "Brassed Off", which dealt with unemployment in a more serious, less jokey way, while at the same time celebrating an important element of working-class culture. Nevertheless, it was "The Full Monty" which went on to become the highest-grossing British film of all time, whereas "Brassed Off" was a much more modest success- possibly its political stance was too overtly left-wing for the American market.
"The Full Monty" does, however, have some good acting performances, particularly from Robert Carlyle as Gary and Tom Wilkinson as Gerald. Gary is outwardly a rough diamond, embittered both by the loss of his job and by the breakdown of his marriage. To be fair, he does have a lot to be bitter about. His ex-wife Mandy left him when he became unemployed and now lives in comparative middle-class affluence with her new lover. Despite this, she still mercilessly pursues Gary for child support, knowing full well that he cannot pay. This is not, perhaps, a film that will appeal to feminists; Gerald's spendthrift, credit-card obsessed wife Linda is portrayed as equally mercenary. Gary also has some virtues such as his loyalty to his former workmates and his deep affection for his young son Nathan. At first Gerald comes across as arrogant and snobbish, but later on he becomes more human and approachable, becoming friendly with the other dancers as he comes to recognise their good qualities. When Gerald- alone of all the troupe- finds a new job near the end of the film both they- and the audience- are happy for him.
"The Full Monty" is not a particularly deep film, nor a particularly original one, relying heavily as it does on clichés about working-class life in Northern England. It is, however, an enjoyable one, sometimes humorous, sometimes touching. 6/10