The Full Monty [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Simon Beaufoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

The Full Monty is a brilliant and original comedy about six men driven to face their fears of inadequacy and loss in hard times. Broke, out of work and on the verge of losing their wives and children, they come up with a desperate, brilliant plan: Make like Chippendale dancers and strip for cash!

The Full Monty is the story of a last-ditch attempt by a group of working-class men to redeem themselves as reliable in the eyes of their community. In scenes as hysterical as they are tender, they discover that "the full monty" requires more than dexterity, a fit body and the right moves; and that the confidence they need can only come from stripping bare the deeper issues that trouble their individual lives. The result is a humane, triumphant comedy that has won the hearts of millions around the world.

In her novel based on the critically acclaimed box-office hit, Wendy Holden revisits our favorite moments both hilarious and heartwarming from The Full Monty.

" A delightful comedy about out-of-work, out-of-shape men who deide to become strippers."
New York Times

"A comic delight! An engrossing study of the male ego stripped bare."
USA Today

"The world's first full-frontal fairy tale!"
Entertainment Weekly

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The film The Full Monty was the sleeper hit of 1997. Made on a modest budget of about $3 million, it grossed more than $200 million worldwide and picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. This adaptation of Simon Beaufoy's screenplay, published to coincide with the film's release on video, fleshes out the situations and characters, exploring their motivations and ruminations in ways that the cinema cannot.

The story is the same: a group of unemployed steelworkers living in the depressed town of Sheffield resolve to pick up some side money by stripping in a public club. Lacking the physical attractions of your typical Chippendale dancers, the six heroes go for "the full monty" anyway, hoping to redeem themselves in the eyes of their community. Wendy Holden's novelization is every bit as funny and moving as the film and is highly recommended to its fans. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Wendy Holden is a journalist and author of six books to date. She lives in Suffolk with her husband and two dogs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Screenpress Books; screenplay edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1901680029
• ISBN-13: 978-1901680027
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendy Holden, also known as Taylor Holden, is an experienced author and novelist with more than twenty books already published including a novel plus two screenplays. She has had numerous works transferred to radio and television.

A journalist for eighteen years, ten on the Daily Telegraph, her first novel THE SENSE OF PAPER was published by Random House New York in 2006 to widespread critical acclaim. Her non-fiction titles have chiefly chronicled the lives of remarkable subjects, such as her latest collaboration with Barbara Sinatra, widow of Frank, in LADY BLUE EYES to be published in March 2011, and Pauline Prescott wife of the Deputy Prime Minister in SMILE THOUGH YOUR HEART IS BREAKING. She also wrote the memoir of the only woman in the French Foreign Legion in TOMORROW TO BE BRAVE and chronicled the life of the mother of a woman killed after marrying a Sudanese warlord in TILL THE SUN GROWS COLD. She co-wrote A LOTUS GROWS IN THE MUD, the memoir of actress Goldie Hawn, a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and HEAVEN AND HELL, the life story of guitarist Don Felder of The Eagles.

In BEHIND ENEMY LINES she wrote about a young Jewish spy who repeatedly crossed German lines and in MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS she chronicled a biography of Dean Martin as seen through his daughter's eyes. She worked with Billy Connolly on JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, his TV-companion travel guide to the Northwest Passage, and co-wrote American male supermodel Bruce Hulse's explosive memoir SEX, LOVE AND FASHION. Other works have included CENTRAL 822, the autobiography of a pioneering policewoman at Scotland Yard and serialised on BBC Radio 4, BITING THE BULLET charting the remarkable life of an SAS wife, and FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW the story of a paraplegic made into a TV drama starring Caroline Quentin. Wendy was also responsible for the bestselling novelisations of the films THE FULL MONTY and WAKING NED. Her first book UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, the true story of the controversial Irish abortion case was banned in Ireland. SHELL SHOCK charting the history of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder went with an award-winning Channel 4 television documentary series. She lives in Suffolk, England, with her husband, chickens and dogs. Learn more at www.wendyholden.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What we do to turn a buck, October 5, 2001

By 

F. G. Hamer "MadManxMan" (Isle of Man) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Full Monty (Paperback)

The book (on which the film was based) is, at the same time, tragic, funny and moving. Full of the dark, working-class humor of the north of England, it tells the story of a group of unemployed men who decide that emulation of the Chippendales would be a good way to turn a buck. Sadly, these anti-heroes lack the skill or the physique of their well-muscled counterparts but decide, nevertheless, to 'go the full Monty' and give it a try. The community is kept in the dark as our six heroes practice the routines and try to tighten up the flab.

The Full Monty highlights the fears and inadequacies of men who have begun to lose their self-respect and possibly their families. The confidence they need can only come from stripping bare the deeper issues that trouble their individual lives (pun intended). The result is a humane, idiosyncratic, triumphant comedy that has won the hearts of millions around the world. Maybe the first full-frontal fairy tale!

I've both read the book and seen the film. The book is better, taking time to examine in more depth the characters of Gaz, Dave, Lomper, Horse, Guy and Gerald.

4.0 out of 5 stars This is the page for the screenplay, not novel!, January 31, 2007

By 

leggylady "Book Worm" (San Franciso) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Full Monty (Paperback)

PLEASE NOTE-All the reviews (including the editorial ones) seem to be referring to the novel by Wendy Holden which was based on the screenplay listed here. My review is for the screenplay- isbn 1901680029, NOT the novel which is improperly linked as the other edition of this book.
__________________________________________________________________

Every bit as fun as the movie! Excellent peek into the psyche of the working class man, self esteem and body image, societal pressures, and the differences between men and women. There were also a few scenes that did not make it to the film version. Reading the screenplay was a wonderful aide in helping to grasp and understand the language of the film as well. It was written in the same accents as it was spoken. I really enjoyed reading this and it made re-watching the film that much more enjoyable.

1.0 out of 5 stars I found it real dull, March 29, 2005

By 

Kris (Oxnard, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Full Monty: A Novel (Paperback)

I thought I'd get up to speed with this book, since I missed the movie. Maybe knowing the book was written based on the movie, probably the screenplay, may have biased me.

It was not at all like reading a "normal" novel, like a bestseller. It was like what it purported to be: an author given the probably unenviable task of "cripping" on a screenplay to come up with a book.

But, I could see where the movie would be better, because you do need the bodily aspect, the dancing, and the music, to make this story work. The book has none of that. The cover has pictures of the actors, but that's it.

The build-up to the climax, when the men dance, seemed too long and repetitive, the same kind of failings happening over and over. Finally, the climax, when the men dance and "all is forgiven," and everyone lives happily ever after; it's too much like a fairy tale.

I guess that was the intention of the original writers, to make it like a modern fairy tale. I think I'd stick with Grimm or Hans C. Andersen, better. Diximus.