The Monster (1994)

Really Surprised!

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

From the reviews, I was expecting a Peter Sellers Pink Panther type literate farce but instead found this movie to be a small string of Roberto's marvelous physical shtick wrapped up in fluff. Most of the slapstick situations were telegraphed from the forties. Even for a farce, the story is farcical. The movie started off with much promise but then almost immediately everyone began to chew scenery. Perhaps another director could have evened it out but I was bored. Humor is in the eye, so to speak, so take this with a grain since so many others seem to rate it funny. But my vote is it would make a great SNL skit but there is not enough of anything to make a full length movie. Your mileage may vary.

a comedy from roberto benigni that is nothing short of brilliant. the laughs aren't as hearty as they were when i watched meet the parents or the 40 year old virgin the first time, and i can't tell yet if the laughs will have as much life as they have in my favorite comedy of all-time (planes, trains and automobiles); but the laughs in monster are good and plentiful. the humor is decidedly European, but really should translate to American audiences without trouble. on a related note - the film is in Italian, but the audio is recorded in post-production so it looks dubbed (a look i've always disliked, but i understand the economics of the decision). that said, don't be tempted to watch the film with the English audio track - it looks even worse and the translation is shoddy. stick with the Italian with subtitles.the premise finds benigni as a hapless, unemployed man who is (wrongly) suspected of being the infamous "monster" - a rapist/murderer who is on the loose throughout italy. the comedy is mostly absurdist stuff, but a lot of it is relatively heady in its execution. there's a lot of setup that goes into the execution of some of the gags, and, in some cases there are gags which pay bigger dividends later in the film. in this regard, the construction of the film reminded me of meet the parents because both films were clearly written and re-written several times. it's only with several re-writes that a film acquires this level of depth and efficiency. much of the film's humor derives from cases of mistaken identity, changes of perspective, and benigni's unique path through life. nicoletta braschi, who is married to benigni and starred across him in life is beautiful, is great in this film as well. she's sexy (which is required because of the film's far-fetched premise), funny, and complements benigni amazingly well. she plays an undercover cop who is charged with the task of luring benigni into showing his "true" self, thus providing the proof the police need to incarcerate him. as the film progresses we see braschi and benigni form a playful and fun relationship which adds a depth to the picture without bogging it down with trite sentimentality. add to this the fact that it pokes plenty of fun at shrinks and cops and you have a brilliantly drawn and realized comedy that should leave you wanting more. B+.

Before Roberto Benigni proved himself capable of masterpieces with "Life is Beautiful" (why did he follow it up with that awful "Pinocchio"?), he made a number of zany comedies, including "Il Mostro" (called "The Monster" in English). After a string of murders, the police suspect builder Loris (Benigni). I should identify that they only have circumstantial evidence, but boy is it some funny circumstantial evidence! Having "learned" about this man, Jessica Rossetti (Nicoletta Braschi) agrees to help nail him. And let me tell you, what she does to try and provoke him into attacking her...well, let's just say that you can't possibly prepare yourself for how funny it is! A hilarious movie in every sense.

Roberto Benigni is a gifted physical comedian, but his pre-Oscar "Il Mostro" is best seen with an audience; the laughter helps cover up the dead spots. If you see it home alone, you can still get laughs out of some cleverly constructed gags, but the flatness of Benigni's direction cannot be ignored. (**1/2)