The Full Monty Critic Reviews

The director, Peter Cattaneo, takes material that could would be at home in a sex comedy, and gives it gravity because of the desperation of the characters; we glimpse the home life of these men, who have literally been put on the shelf, and we see the wound to their pride.Read the full review

The comic moments in this ingratiating bit of malarkey from director Peter Cattaneo and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (both TV trained, both making their feature debuts) are winning.Read the full review

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. [13 August 1997, Calendar, p.F-5]Read the full review

Originality may be at a premium here, but The Full Monty offers plenty of opportunities for laughter and genial smiles.Read the full review

Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy has created full characters as vulnerable in their personal lives as in their work.Read the full review

The laughs are fuller when they're rooted in authentic desperation, and the premise is yeasty enough to keep the film from sinking into facile hopelessness.Read the full review

Inevitably, the film has echoes of "Brassed Off," another recent British export. The Full Monty is less sentimental and arguably funnier.Read the full review

A winning mix of humor and poignant character examination, and a satisfying film.Read the full review

Such pure, naked joy is utterly contagious.Read the full review