how many of us would become strippers ? for those of us who wouldn't , is it a moral reason , or purely a lack of confidence ? that's probably not a fair question , and for a lot of us , it could very well be for neither of those reasons . as you watch the full monty , however , you may begin asking yourself these kinds of questions . would you be willing to grin and bare it to bring in some much needed dough ? in case you haven't guessed , the full monty is about stripping , but striptease it ain't . it's actually quite a charming comedy that uses its ideas with a great deal of tact and sophistication . it is the story of six out-of-work , out-of-shape blue collar brits whose recent job losses have left the boys penniless , but not without need . what to do ? it hits our main character gaz ( robert carlyle ) as he notices the large crowds of women who pour into a local male strip club on a regular basis . it seems that simple : take it off and bring in the cash . eventually , gaz is able to convince his friends to join him in starting their own exotic dance routine despite their initial reluctance . these include the overweight , confidence-lacking dave ( mark addy ) , the uptight , overly-officious gerald ( tom wilkinson ) , the once suicidal lomper ( steve huison ) , and two additional fellows who gain their place among the group by audition : horse ( paul barber ) , an older gentlemen chock full of graceless energy , and guy ( hugo speer ) , a young well-endowed looker who compares himself to cary grant . when the sextet is complete , we're given a hefty dose of physical comedy . we watch the bumbling middle-aged men choreograph pseudo-sexy dance numbers , all the while proving why none of them were strippers in the first place . as if there anti-appeal wasn't enough , they decide to boost interest in the group by promising " the full monty " on opening night , which for us americans , means baring it all . . . and i mean * all * . the movie actually ends on opening night ; a hilarious applause worthy ending i might add . it's sure to leave nothing short of a big smile on your face as you leave the theater . with the subject matter , you might not expect the fully monty to be such a feel-good , almost inspiring film , but it surprisingly turns out that way . the amount of light , touching drama also comes as a nice surprise , never feeling off-balance from the otherwise highly upbeat moments of the film . there's a lot more to this movie than you might think in other words , and the ensemble cast couldn't be better . each character is completely individual , interesting , funny , and most importantly , real . the full monty is never offensive , a very impressive attribute since its subject matter alone could've easily fallen prey to tastelessness . it's one of those movies that is best described as a solid piece of entertainment , perfect for a great night on the town , or as a saturday night movie rental . either way you see it , it shouldn't let you down in the slightest . and , pun heavily intended , when it's all said and done , you'll be smiling from cheek to cheek .
