The Full Monty Review

        I’m back and I’ve decided to spice it up a bit in the incoming months. Typically, I talk about a genre or a type of film in March. So I’ve chosen to move that up to April and you can imagine that my director spotlight has been bumped to this summer. I’ll leave it at that since I’m planning to review one director’s entire filmography. With that update established, this will be the first time that I’ve done a overview of a movie studio. I think this is everyone’s first studio where they were exposed to films that aren’t mainstream but are endearing in some way. To kick off this venture, this is what I think about their first hit The Full Monty. 

1. The Super Indie

        As far as back as I can remember. I’ve been exposed to Fox Searchlight Pictures way back when I was younger. The first movie that I saw from the studio is Napoleon Dynamite. I talked about that movie awhile ago but something about it clicked with me where it wasn’t like any other film that I’ve watched. Mind you, it was just cartoons and action that filled up my mind but not so much of a slice of life film. And the next one I watched was Juno which coincidentally I talked about last year. 

        Knowing me, I wanted to look up how this studio came about and of course has the competition that it invited. Well, it all started back in the 90s when the new directors were coming out. The movement is referred to as the American Indie movement when new directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez where coming out of the woodwork making movies that didn’t cost around 100 million dollars. Miramax spearheaded the whole endeavor and it’s shocking to know that Disney made a partnership with them as far as distribution is concerned. 

        With the success of what the directors were doing, it only made sense where the other studios obliged with making their own studios with the same MO. You had Warner Bros. establishing Warner Independent and Paramount’s Paramount Vintage. While both of them are no longer around, it can’t be stated that Fox Searchlight is still going strong even after the recent acquisition from Disney. 

2. Gaz’s Dance 

        The reason I picked this one is this is the first movie where it solidified Fox Searchlight as an Oscar contender and one where if it wasn’t for the success of this movie. The studio may not have survived. Prior to the release of The Full Monty, it had released films that earned a good reception but didn’t make enough money to be considered a hit. With this one, it made box office bank surprisingly with its commentary and what the whole thing is all about. I’ll stop with the stalling and let’s get down to it. 

        We follow Gary, or as his friends refer to him as Gaz. We track him as he’s currently unemployed from the steel mill and can’t provide child support to his ex. Him and his friends are in the same boat as they are unemployed and are just slackers in general. Gaz decides to start a Chippendales-esque dance troupe in order to raise money to spend time with his son. 

        So that’s a lot for a movie about the underclass attempting to better themselves. I’ll say that the film is a blue-collar movie. An underdog story as you will since we’re following these guys who of course don’t exactly have the peak male form. They’re out of shape and the moment involving them fielding a tryout is hilarious when all who enter are nowhere near young or fit to meet what Gaz is attempting to create. What I like about the film is that it’s a personal film where Gaz is trying to better himself but go about a different way. 

        With how the film starts, we see a promotional video of the neighborhood and the narrator saying that it’s a beacon for employment. Adding stock footage of people smiling and a soccer team playing, then smash cut to the factory being in ruin and the whole neighborhood having a drab look to it with a muggy cloudy sky. I don’t know if it’s a geographical reason but it complements the whole feel for the movie where our characters are in a sense stuck with their predicament. 

        Character-wise, everyone does a good job especially our main lead. I love how he’s a slacker and he doesn’t want to get a regular job. He’s not a bad guy but is given an ultimatum to find something or risk having his custody of his son taken. Thus making the movie a lot more than just male stripping. With a movie that has male stripping, it has a lot of depth and themes on how challenging it can be for a schlubby person to just make a name for himself. 

        As far as all the characters that we see, the heart of the film is Gaz’s friend Dave. He’s a heavyset guy that mostly goes along with what Gaz is attempting to do. When they’re already practicing for their routine, we feel bad for Dave because he has a lot of self-fate as far as not being happy with how he looks. It even affects him at his house when his wife confronts him with about his venture and he tells her about his problem. It’s sad and it finally gives him enough self-confidence and to perform for his wife among everyone in attendance. 

        Might as well talk about the whole dance, since that’s what the whole film is leading up to when you watch it until the end. Before that, I want to say that a film has that type of action or showcasing, it shouldn’t be met with no consternation. Any criticism taking aim at it, I feel is lacking a lot of context of why it’s included. With how the dance is used, it’s like a sports movie where there’s a lot of practice and tiny peak into their whole dance. At first they’re embarrassed but I like how they overcome it when they finally do their whole bit.

3. Overall

        The Full Monty is one of the best British films that I’ve seen and one where it cemented Fox Searchlight as the premier Big Indie studio.