Oh, yeah, the movie. It was definitely worth all the line-waiting and Metro trips. One of the funniest movies I've seen this year, it chronicles the efforts of a group of unemployed steelworkers in working-class Yorkshire to earn some money and reclaim their masculinity, which has been eaten away by the indignities of joblessness and Chippendale dancers who visit the town (and draw crowds of screaming women). Upon hearing of how much the Chippendales charge for entry, Gaz (Robert Carlyle) decides he and his mates will put on a strip show themselves... and show up the Chippies by going the full monty (British slang for gettin' butt nekkid).
There is, of course, plenty of physical humor as these blue-collar, beer-swilling men shake their groove thangs to Donna Summer and Hot Chocolate, glean inspiration from Flashdance, and examine their bodies' imperfections like... well, like a bunch of women. But there are some quite touching moments as well, mainly revolving around Gaz's attempts to maintain a relationship with his son. His ex-wife refuses to let him see the boy until he ponies up his share of child support; hence his eagerness to let it all hang out.
Great performances all around, but Robert Carlyle really stands out. You may know him best as the full-bore psycho Begbie from Trainspotting, but this role is completely different. And he's lost that cheesy mustache.
So... go see
this movie, even if you have to stand in line for two hours
and come back to the theater three times before you finally get
in.
Even the muy macho Latino man I saw it with, who laughed at me
for
my persistence in trying to get tickets, had a great time.
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