Amiable ‘Full Monty’ Lets Chips Fall Where They May

At the beginning of the bittersweet British comedy “The Full Monty,” we’re treated to a promotional film touting Sheffield, England, as the “City on the Move” and boasting that the city’s mills produce the finest steel in the world. But that was 25 years ago, and today factories are either more mechanized or stand abandoned, just as they are in America’s Rust Belt.

When a couple of Sheffield’s long-out-of-work guys notice that a night spot is packing in the local lasses with a Chippendale-style revue, they reflexively react with scorn--at least until they start calculating the take. The unthinkable gradually becomes thinkable: Why not work up a male strippers act themselves and make some money?

Why not, indeed? Right away, the difference between Gaz (Robert Carlyle) and his pals and the buffed-out young guys who are de rigueur for Chips performances is an instant source of humor and discomfort for Gaz and company--and probably for most of the men in the audience who are either out of shape or not so young, or both. Writer Simon Beaufoy understands this, fortunately, and he and director Peter Cattaneo balance broad humor with much affection.

Like the recent “Brassed Off” and countless other British films, “The Full Monty” deals with people coping with unemployment and the toll it exacts on self-esteem, especially in blue-collar men who’ve always prided themselves as reliable breadwinners. Gaz is especially desperate for money, for he is in danger of losing partial custody of his beloved small son (William Snape).

The idea of taking off their clothes in public of course strikes Gaz’s friends as humiliating, but as the men gradually bond, they begin to be less self-conscious. We in turn realize how easy it is to be filled with loathing for our own bodies should they fail to measure up to the physical perfection so relentlessly promoted in the media.

While too sharp-featured to be considered handsome, Gaz has a trim build and is not a bad dancer. His best friend Dave (Mark Addy), however, is a bear-like guy. Although he’s a rugged man who actually carries his bulk well, he is uncomfortable about his body. He only reluctantly allows Gaz to persuade him to participate.

Others they line up for their act are their former foreman, Gerald (Tom Wilkinson), a skilled ballroom dancer who will also serve as choreographer, and Horse (Paul Barber), who can do the Bump, the Stump and the Funky Chicken despite a “dodgy” hip. Gerald and Horse are well into middle age but are in good shape.

Rounding out the act are Guy (Hugo Speer), the one man who actually looks like a Chippendale alumnus but who is a klutzy dancer, and Lomper (Steve Huison), a pale, scrawny red-haired young man.

As their “Hot Metal” revue commences rehearsals--to the sounds of Donna Summer, Hot Chocolate, Gary Glitter, Sister Sledge, Tom Jones and the like--the men realize that if they’re going to draw a full house for what they intend to be a one-time-only venture, they must do “the full monty”--i.e., take it all off (we see them from the back).

If you don’t go expecting the depth and subtlety of a Mike Leigh working-class film, “The Full Monty” can be heart-warming fun with more serious undertones than you might have expected.

* MPAA rating: R, for language and some nudity. Times guidelines: There is no frontal male nudity but there is some profanity. The film is suitable for mature older children accompanied by an adult.

‘The Full Monty’

Robert Carlyle: Gaz

Tom Wilkinson: Gerald

Mark Addy: Dave

A Fox Searchlight Pictures release. Director Peter Cattaneo. Producer Uberto Pasolini. Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy. Cinematographer John de Borman. Editors Nick Moore, Dave Freeman. Costumes Jill Taylor. Music Anne Dudley. Production designer Max Gottlieb. Art director Chris Roope. Choreographer Suzanne Grand. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

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