The Full Monty (5 Stars)

I admit that my sole reason for watching "The Full Monty" this evening was to commemorate Tom Wilkinson's death on 30th December, but wow! I'd forgotten what a great film it is! I have it on DVD, but the last time I watched it was before I started my blog in September 2010. What's wrong with me?

The first time I saw it was when it was on television. Probably 1998. I bought it soon after buying my first DVD player in 2003. How often did I watch it? I don't remember, but I know I watched films repeatedly when I didn't have many. And then I forgot all about it.

It's not just the humour that I like. I can relate to the poverty after the decline of the steel industry. I've never visited Sheffield, it's 75 miles north of Birmingham where I lived, but the town scenes look familiar. It's not so different to towns like Stoke-on-Trent and Nottingham; rolling hills with houses overlooking a valley.

Tom is best known for his role in "The Full Monty". The film was nominated for four Academy Awards in 1997, but only won the award for Best Original Score. On the other hand, it was voted the best film at the Baftas, despite fierce competition from "Titanic". I personally think that the Baftas are the most impartial awards ceremony. The Academy Awards have a pro-American bias, in general, even though there can be exceptions like "Parasite" and "Slumdog Millionaire".

"The Full Monty" is a biddy movie. Six outcasts band up to become strippers.

I can understand why Tom Wilkinson is best known for "The Full Monty". He's not the main character – in the group picture above he's hiding at the back – but he's the most tragic character in the gang. He was the factory foreman, a step above the others, but he's been made unemployed just like the men working for him. He lives in a pleasant middle class home, but he's more vulnerable to poverty than the others. He's afraid to tell his wife that he lost his job, so he puts on a suit and walks to the Job Centre every day, knowing that his wife goes out shopping with her credit cards every day.

Robert Carlyle and Tom Wilkinson are the best known actors in the film, but the other four actors (Mark Addy, Steve Huison, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer) are all well known actors in British film and television. Allow me to point out one actress, Fiona Watts, who's never achieved success. She has a non-speaking role as Beryl, a woman attending the gang's (un-)dress rehearsal. This was her only ever film role, which is a shame for a woman of her beauty.

Success Rate:  + 71.7

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