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The full Monty - Peter Cattaneo, Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape
Threat advisory: Severe - Severe risk of entertaining activities
Movie propaganda
Robert Carlyle (memorable as the Trainspotting psychopath Begby) stars in a change of pace as fun loving, slightly irresponsible Gaz. Short of funds, he hatches a plan to launch a striptease act in order to earn himself and his out of luck pals some much needed money. Unlike the Chippendales, whose visit to a local ladies night inspires them, these friends are the furthest thing from the platonic ideal for exotic dancers.
Best friend David (Mark Addy) is overweight and a little down in the dumps over a recent bout of impotency; ex-foreman and amateur ballroom dancer Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) (pink-slipped but afraid to tell his credit card obsessed wife) is hopelessly uptight; Horse (Paul Barber) is an old geezer who does a mean Funky Chicken despite a creaky hip joint; Lomper (Steve Huison) is pigeon-chested and lives with his mother; and Guy (Hugo Speer), with no discernible sense of rhythm, is, well, generously endowed.
Still, with boundless determination, and Gerald's well meaning choreography, they're soon dancing to the sounds of Donna Summer, Gary Glitter, Sister Sledge and Tom Jones, as they prepare to go for the terrifying but necessary revelation that will distinguish them from your average ten-bit stripper... the full Monty.
Persons of interest
- Robert Carlyle .... Gary "Gaz" Schofield
- Mark Addy .... Dave
- William Snape .... Nathan
- Steve Huison .... Lomper
- Tom Wilkinson .... Gerald Arthur Cooper
- Paul Barber .... Barrington "Horse" Mitchell
- Hugo Speer .... Guy
- Lesley Sharp .... Jean
- Emily Woof .... Mandy
- Deirdre Costello .... Linda Cooper
- Paul Butterworth .... Barry
- Dave Hill .... Alan
- Bruce Jones .... Reg
- Simon Beaufoy .... Screenwriter
- Peter Cattaneo .... Director
Intelligence analyst
Special Agent Matti
Theatrical report
Magic, bloody magic.
This is one of those far too rare films that is genuinely funny (I couldn't have stopped myself from laughing even if I'd wanted to) but more than that, it is genuinely moving: the pain, joy and heartache of the various characters' lives is a beautiful thing (from an audience point of view). The absurdity of the situation these men find themselves in is immense, but they are such real people that it somehow becomes irrelevant.
The full Monty does for stripping what Priscilla, queen of the desert did for drag. Ordinary, pained, flawed people doing their best in a world that doesn't offer safety nets or guarantees, but succeeding anyway. This is one of the best films I have seen all year (and I've seen 60 or 70 since January); I found myself applauding at the end, something I haven't done since Strictly ballroom, and I also felt like taking all my clothes off, something I haven't done in public since high school.
This is a film to see.
Security censorship classification
M (Medium level coarse language, sexual references)
Surveillance time
91 minutes (1:31 hours)
Not for public release in Australia before date
Film: 16 October 1997
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