Arts & Entertainment : Friday, February 23, 2001
Movie Review
If 'Monkeybone' doesn't disgust you, it might make you howl
By Melanie
McFarland
Seattle Times staff reporter
With Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda,
Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Kattan, Rose McGowan and the
voice of John Turturro. Directed by Henry Selick
from a screenplay by Sam Hamm. 109 minutes. Several
theaters. Rated PG-13 for adult humor, mild
sexuality and violence.
"Monkeybone"
Rating: * * * (out of four)
Entertaining freak show that it is, "Monkeybone" nonetheless has an uphill battle at the box office. The thing's been trailer-trashed, hitched to previews so flaccid that it comes off as little more than a big-budget ode to onanistic humor. You'd think the comedy exists just to give Brendan Fraser the opportunity to scream about choking his monkey.
Gross-out humor does pervade "Monkeybone," but forget about that. Instead consider director Henry Selick's talents. The man behind the sweet "James and the Giant Peach" and stop-motion animated masterpiece "The Nightmare Before Christmas" has amply proven he can dream up colorful realms for movie audiences. In this loose adaptation of Kaja Blackley's hallucinogenic graphic novel "Dark Town," he shows us an addition to "Beetlejuice's" creepily comedic waiting room in the afterlife - a bizarre, twisting roller-coaster blast through the subconscious.
At the center is Monkeybone, equal parts Bugs Bunny and Benny Hill (voiced by John Turturro), the swinging creation of quiet, restless comic-book artist Stu Miley (Fraser). In case you're wondering, yes, the monkey's named after Miley's, um, Little Miley.
Fraser's Miley is a sad puppy personified, painfully introverted without cloying. It's easy to understand why his girlfriend, Julie (Bridget Fonda), adores him, although judging from Fonda's rote performance, heaven only knows why he wants to marry her.
Since Stu's also about to get a TV series based on his pet project, he's quite a catch. His manager, Herb (Dave Foley at his oiliest), wants to sell him to the universe. Stu just wishes all the attention would disappear. And it does, when a car accident puts Stu into a months-long coma, and his mind dives into a Grand Guignol comaville called Downtown.
Assorted bizarre creatures inhabit this boardwalk between life and death, including Monkeybone, Stu's sex-crazed simian id. Selick mishmashes live-action characters such as Rose McGowan's busty Kitty girl with animation, weird puppets and loopy carny creations.
It's exciting to watch. Not for Stu, of course. When the dream god, Hypno (Giancarlo Esposito), shows him one of Julie's reveries revealing his relatives' intention to end life support, Stu realizes he has to wake up. To do that, Hypno tells him, he has to steal an exit pass from Death (Whoopi Goldberg) with Monkeybone's help. There's a catch, of course, and soon Stu finds himself at odds with his own creation.
"Monkeybone" doesn't allow Fraser's co-stars to do much; Fonda can only play worried and weepy while Goldberg is her usual, brash self. But here, the star can show off, easily transforming from sweet gloomy hunk to the jumpy jerk he becomes in the film's second half. Cameos provide the best treats here, including a ticklish appearance by Stephen King. Chris Kattan steals the show at the end, playing out a very long, sick joke that may make you bust a gut. With all it has going for it, "Monkeybone's" darkness and adult themes still might not play well with a wide audience, but black-humor fans will be amply satisfied.
