The Full Fonty
Peter Cattaneo, 1997, UK, Italy, USA, Colour, 91 mins, Certificate: 15
A good, heart-warming, out loud laugh is always a life saver. Perhaps now more than ever.
Timely again, for so many reasons, this multi BAFTA winner (which also scored an Oscar for Best Music) follows six men struggling with unemployment and suddenly high cost of living, who find an unexpected, bold, revealing and absolutely fun way to pay the bills: a striptease act!
A British comedy classic, with some stellar performances, including BAFTA winners’ Robert Carlyle’s and Tom Wilkinson’s, it exists at the polar opposite of toxic masculinity and remains the perfect antidote to dark times.
It is no accident that Disney+ just ordered a new The Full Monty TV series with all the original cast set to reunite after 25 years for a small screen sequel!
Well, when life gives you lemons, you can… keep your hat on!
Reviews:
★★★★★ “Peter Cattaneo’s populist comedy is the kind of film that tugs the heartstrings as often as it tickles the funny bone. Combining a finely-tuned script with a searing indictment of Thatcherism, “The Full Monty” is always more than the sum of its tabloid-friendly storyline”. Jamie Russel, BBC – Films
“”The Full Monty” finds both pathos and laughs in its farfetched conceit, avoiding the pitfalls of sappiness and shtik. Odds are good you’ll exit grinning.”. David Ansen, Newsweek
★★★ “With some original comic touches – the group silently practising their routine while queueing in the DSS is a stand-out – the film arives as yet another solid entry in the much appreciated movement of no-fuss, low-budget British films designed to genuinely entertain.”. Deborah Brown, Empire
“What The Full Monty is, though, is political, in the gentlest, Ealing-comedy way… What makes the story compelling is that there’s more at stake than just the few bob and laughs the lads stand to make. It’s dignity they hope to regain…” Jonathan Romney, The Guardian