Much like the strip act that it features, "The Full Monty" -- a surprising, artistic and critical hit of 1997 -- never goes so far as to show everything, but it's the tease that's often more enjoyable than the real thing. That's the case here, where the fun isn't seeing the men actually perform their "number," but in their awkward and often very funny practice sessions leading up to it.
Topping it off is the fact that these men are about the farthest from the Chippendale dancers that you could get. They're either overweight, skinny or are too old to be doing this sort of thing, and that only adds to their uncomfortable, but often hilarious participation. In fact, that's what makes the film so enjoyable. These are just average "Joe's" and the fact that they aren't famous or handsome, and have many flaws, allows the audience to identify with them and thus feel compassion for their dilemma.
One of the funniest moments in the movie is after the men have temporarily abandoned their strip plans. Standing in line at the unemployment office, they hear the strains of "Hot Stuff" (the 1970's Donna Summer disco hit). As the infectious beat slowly invades their bodies, they can't help but start moving, one body part at a time, until they're doing their dance steps.
It's quite amusing, as are the many other practice and audition sessions. Another scene has the men practicing for the first time in front of one of the men's relatives, including a grandmother who knits during the number and must keep herself from laughing out loud with the other family members and with the audience.
The acting performances, like the movie, are quite good with Robert Carlyle and Tom Wilkinson standing out in their roles. While some might think that the idea is too scandalous, or may watch because they think they're going to see "the full monty," they'll be surprised that the film is more of a tease than actual explicit exploitation.
With the right mix of humor and enough dramatic elements to keep the plot humanized and always moving forward, this movie is an enjoyable diversion from the standard Hollywood fare to which audiences are usually subjected.
As far as the disc itself, both the picture and audio are quite good. The supplemental materials -- a theatrical trailer and the original UK version of the audio track and subtitles -- on the other hand, aren’t particularly noteworthy, especially for a movie that received several Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture.
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