Monkeybone Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)March 4th, 2001
Imaginative but Incomplete "Monkey" Business by Homer Yen
(c) 2001
"Monkeybone" starts off promisingly as an amusing exploration into the personality of struggling cartoonist Stu Smiley (likable Brendan Fraser). His earlier years were marked by bouts of horrifying nightmares while success had always eluded him. But after meeting sleep therapist Julie (appealing Bridget Fonda), things began to change. His nightmares disappeared and his newfound sense of peace led him to his newest cartoon, "Monkeybone," an overactive, orange-colored simian that's actually a representation of his repressed and unsatisfied libido.
His idea becomes a hit. The Cartoon Network thinks it’ll be the hottest thing since the Power Puff Girls while merchandising opportunities hold the promise of untold fortunes. But he is currently more pre-occupied with mustering the courage to propose to Julie. Unfortunately, a freak accident lands him in a coma, and this is where the film's creative juices begin to stream forth.
While Stu's body lies in a vegetative state in the real world, his psyche descends to a place called Downtown, a bizarre fantasyland that looks like a haunted carnival influenced with a touch of Edgar Allen Poe. It's a visually stunning dimension with it's unusual inhabitants lifted from the world of Star Wars, including a bulbous Cyclops, a Bee lady, a humanoid kitty, and Downtown's leader who resembles a Satyr. And, there's also a familiar looking, overactive, orange-colored simian.
What the movie tries to become at this point, I think, is a clever take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. With the multiple personalities that make up Stu now split into two (one is the libidinous Monkeybone, the other is plain vanilla Stu), perhaps he can come to terms with some of his unresolved issues.
Rather than being dramatic, however, the film wants to be funny and strange. But Monkeybone's vituperative chatter becomes a nuisance. Meanwhile, director Henry Selick (who gave us "The Nightmare before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach") goes for the gusto in terms of bizarre presentation. The world that he has created looks great, but he seems to have forgotten that the characters need to mean something too. Case in point: Stu receives help from an unlikely source, but the reasoning for that is never convincing.
Midway through the film, "Monkeybone" becomes too clever for its own good. It introduces a conspiracy, a plot that threatens the happiness of those in the land of the living, and a bizarre showdown between Stu's now-separated two personalities. That's just too much for this 88-minute film. But, I am happy to say that I hadn't laughed harder this year as I did during its final 15 minutes. This is thanks to Saturday Night Live cast veteran Chris Kattan, whose body is borrowed by Stu who has returned to the land of the living to warn Julie about the conspiracy. Kattan's body is dead, decomposing with a broken neck. Watching him run across town is downright funny.
But, that kind of manic energy was just unsustainable. In part, Fraser seems a bit lost and out of place (he was much better in "Bedazzled"). Also, the film never lets us internalize Stu's plight because there is just too much going on. "Monkeybone" may be the cleverest movie to come out so far in 2001. It was innovative in its look and offered numerous interesting ideas. But the film never really takes off. I really wanted to like this film more.
Grade: C+
S: 1 out of 3
L: 1 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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