The Full Monty was a very entertaining movie that was a lot deeper than I thought it would be. It was released in 1997 and is set in the English steel city of Sheffield.
I thought the opening was interesting when they used a promotional video of Sheffield from the early 1970's to sort of set the setting of the movie - a once thriving city that is now struggling because of the closure of their steel mills.
The main characters of the movie are struggling to deal with the aftermath of their unemployment.
The colors and setting of the film portray a bleak, industrial-style look, which makes it very apparent that the city - and its people - are in hard times.
The plot centers on the lives of a few of the unemployed employees from one of the factories. Gaz (played by Robert Carlyle), and Dave (Mark Addy) are good friends and are struggling to regain their livelihood (and their manhood). They recruit a few others, including their old foreman, to try to make some money and regain some confidence by becoming male strippers, after seeing the enthusiasm displayed by the women in their community for a Chippendale dancer show at a local club.
The subject matter covered in this film was pretty expansive. Certainly, unemployment was central to the plot, but many symptoms or byproducts were also covered: child custody and alimony, depression, suicide, homosexuality, body image, honesty, and even erectile dysfunction.
I think it's easy to see a lot of our own flaws and feelings in the characters of the movie.
The music used in the film was fantastic, as was the acting. The characters seemed like real people that were actually going through these issues.
I found it very amusing that Gaz would allow his son to be around for this escapade, but as you look at the relationship between the two, it seems Nathan is almost more of the father-figure. Gaz seems to think of Nathan as sort of a playmate or partner for his crazy ventures. Nathan really wants to believe in and respect his father and more than that, wants his Dad to respect himself and become more like a dad.
Dave is terribly insecure and unhappy. He doesn't feel like the man he wants to be, is overweight, and is not able to perform sexually with his wife.
They save Lomper from killing himself and recruit him, along with their old supervisor Gerald to start a male stripper ensemble. Gerald has his own issues, as he has been unable to tell his wife that he has lost his job - even though it's been six months. She only finds out once their furniture and belongings start to get re-possessed. Together, they decide to turn their lives around - at least for a night - by becoming part of Hot Metal - the name of their group.
The movie was very funny, but also very sobering as you watch the characters struggle with their identities and the trials and tribulations of losing everything they knew.
Again, this was a very good movie that was very uplifting. In the end, the guys showed their community and the ones they loved, that they were resilient and were on their way back.
...and we even got to see more gnomes!!
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