"Funky Monkey" - Maria's Take

You know what I liked about this movie? The comedy was subtle.

Comedies today are all about parody; these days it is tough to find a perfectly timed kicked-in-the-crotch gag. Well, my lovely CFP readers, "Funky Monkey" gives you not one, but two beautifully shot, wonderfully executed kicked-in-the-crotch routines.

This movie reminded me of those I loved as a kid, "Dunston Checks In," "Air Bud," and "Gordy." It never tries to be smarter or wittier than it is, and for that I am really appreciative. The majority of popular movies today have smack-talking rodents ripping off the slow motion scenes from "The Matrix." Is "Funky Monkey" a brilliant film that will make kids smarter? No. Is "Funky Monkey" a silly, stupid movie with fun to watch sight gags? Absolutely.

The premise of the movie is second to watching the monkey, "Clemens," make silly faces. The story revolves around smooth-talking, skateboard riding "McCall," played by Matthew Modine. Remember Matthew Modine? He was in "Full Metal Jacket." Did you wonder what happened to him? He is playing second banana to a chimp. (Pardon the pun). Anyway, McCall discovers that the company he is contracted to, Z.I.T., is performing experiments on their animals. The specifics of the experiments are never fully explained, but they apparently require the monkeys to wear stupid costumes. McCall's best bud, the forementioned Clemens, is too awesome to be experimented on (he knows kung-fu for God's sake), so McCall saves him, and restores Clemens dignity by attiring him in Hawaiian shirts--thus, Clemens' transformation into utmost funkiness.

All the while, young Michael Dean, an apparent genius (I say apparent because we are only told this fact, honestly, I found him pretty dopey), is trying to score the attention of cheerleader Christina. Of course, as this is a movie about high school, Michael is picked on by the bigger, electric-scooter riding football players.

The two stories eventually collide and ultimately evil wins. No, I kid, I kid, the bad guys lose and Michael gets his kiss. Sorry to spoil the movie, but honestly, as I mentioned before, the premise is nowhere near as entertaining as watching Clemens make silly faces when he is not being coached.

Overall, it is really hard for me to trash this movie. It wasn't brilliant and didn't offer me anything, but it was fun to watch and, several times, intentionally funny. If I were 8 or 9, I probably would've watched this movie several times a week.

I apologize if you wanted me to attack this movie or call it out on its misgivings. Sure, Michael's acting is atrocious and he obviously went through puberty while shooting--he has a mustache in certain scenes, but this wasn't exactly a challenging role. The most ridiculous part was the adult actors cast: Roma Downey, Matthew Modine, and Jeffrey Tambor. All three of these well-respected actors accepted roles in a film called, "Funky Monkey." It is just difficult to be harsh or critical of a movie that never tries to be something it isn't.

Next week however, we are watching a movie about people finding ancient treasure in the Grand Canyon...oh yeah, it is going to be epic.