Black & White World

The Full Monty (1997)

A friend recently criticized this movie as lacking in character development.  While I don’t agree, I can certainly see where she got that idea.  I think Gerald (the Tom Wilkinson character) actually has the best arc.  It’s never really explained why Gaz can’t just go and get a job, other than the tight market (I realize that’s a pretty good reason).  And the Peter Pan archetype has never been one of my favorites.

Maybe the most egregious lack of development comes in the form of Lomper, the red-headed, shy, depressed security guard.  When we first meet him, he’s trying to commit suicide by gassing himself in his car.  We later discover that he has an invalid mother at home depending on him.  The beginnings of an interesting storyline, to be sure.  But then in lieu of any further development, it is announced rather unceremoniously that he is gay.  I don’t have a problem with his character being gay, but it’s as if they just drew it out of a hat as a plot twist.  “There, he’s gay.  No more development needed.”

But what I love about The Full Monty, and why it works for me on just about every level, is the thin thread of desperation running all through the movie.  It is not five guys who decided to take off their clothes on a lark, or because they lost a bet, or any other contrived sitcommy reason—it’s five guys who are broke and on the edge and out of work, and for whatever reason, this strip tease is their last resort.  If this fails, they are sunk.  I love the metaphor, as obvious as it might seem, of stripping completely naked in order to free yourself from whatever your various inhibiting factors are.

I should point out:  I love that metaphor as part of a movie.  It’s not something that I would advocate actually doing myself.  I prefer my various inhibiting factors, thank you so very much.