The film The Full Monty was released in 1997, just as Tony Blair had taken hold of the country. Strange to think, given how low-key it now looks, but it was a huge critical and commercial hit at the time, the highest-earning UK box office hit pre-Titanic, which won the Bafta for Best Film and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture (which went, inevitably, to Titanic).
Back then, for those of us cool kids who preferred the previous year’s Trainspotting, it was inescapable and a bit annoying, but the film itself was, and remains, an undeniably effective piece of feelgood cinema. It perfect told the story of a group of out of work men in Sheffield finding solace, confidence and company, in training for a ‘full monty’ strip at their local club. Funny, warm, and quirky, it was all winningly British in its downbeat humour.
And it had hit upon something that is now virtually a mainstay of popular culture: men in crisis. In particular, it was a refreshing look at working-class men suffering from a lack of confidence – including body confidence – presented as the human cost of years of neglect from Tory governments and the shattering of northern industry. As such, this TV series sequel makes a great deal of sense, given the current state of the country, where people are struggling for work, livelihoods and their very identities like never before. This is something the series is very much intent on exploring, admirably, although in doing so it dampens the magic that made the film so loved.
Happily it does reunite the original cast, led by Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy as Gaz and Dave – although Hugo Speer’s Guy disappears a few episodes in, after Speer was accused of exposing himself to a runner on-set, something he denies – and the bitter-sweet and salty humour is delivered by the returning screenwriters of the original, Simon Beaufoy, and his co-writer for the series Alice Nutter.
The action mostly is centred around a café called Big Baps run by Lomper (Steve Huison) and his other half Dennis, played by Paul Clayton (the constant gags around the caff’s name drag all this a little too much into Carry On territory) and the local school where Dave works as a caretaker. This latter device allows a new set of young characters to enter the frame, led by Gaz’s wayward daughter, Destiny, played by Talitha Wing.
The series begins with a farcical episode of Destiny stealing a car with Cal (Dominic Sharkey), only to find it contains a dog which just won Britain’s Got Talent. Cue an unfeasibly bad decision to ask for a ransom from the owners. Such broad comic set pieces are woven into grittier storylines such as the mental health troubles of graffiti artist Ant (Arnold Oceng), in a psych ward, and the struggles of Horse – the always excellent Paul Barber – who is disabled and battling to receive income support from a baffling and unhelpful social support system.
It’s certainly an ambitious show, aiming to expose the cracks in a society that seems to actively work against its most vulnerable members, but it doesn’t fully hold together. Some of the stories veer into sub-Eastenders scrapes, but for the most part the strength of the characters, as delivered by the excellent cast, carries the show through. Addy and Carlyle in particular are always watchable, frequently funny and genuinely touching.
What it doesn’t have is that flash of magic. The original Full Monty had the final striptease as both a narrative driver and a cathartic big ending – there is no striptease in this one, I’m afraid, only a nod to it. That’s not to say we need male nudity to supply magic, it’s more about having that unifying moment of transcendent joy that can lift people out of the mire. That is not to be found here. While the show is a welcome watch, you just have the feeling it didn’t really go the full monty.
