Customer Reviews

Funky Monkey

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

They just don't make very many good family-friendly films these days; they're too busy taking classics and making modern-day mockeries out of them. Funky Monkey, though, is a very funny, perfectly family-friendly film that just about everybody can enjoy (I guess it's the fight scenes that earned it a PG instead of a G rating). Normally, I shy away from movies built around chimpanzees - give me a chimpanzee that knows martial arts, though, and I am there. Clemens is no ordinary chimpanzee - he's been specially trained by former CIA agent Jack McCall (Matthew Modine) to be some kind of simian super agent. When the training is finished, though, McCall's boss sends him packing and makes plan to transfer Clemens to some kind of biological research place (where study means death, of course). The ultimate plan is to make an army of chimps just like Clemens. McCall's not about to let that happen, so he rescues the chimp and rides off into the night with him.

The pair turns up in San Diego, where they meet Michael Dean (Seth Adkins) - after a certain little action-packed episode at the zoo. Thanks to Michael and his mother Megan (Roma Downey), McCall and Clemens have a place to hide out for awhile. The bad guys, including two complete idiots, eventually track them down, of course - but before that happens, McCall has time to make buddies with the kid and even give him a little guidance concerning the ladies (which apparently includes changing his height at will, as he's about a foot shorter than Christina (Kaleigh Krish) at one point, a few inches taller at another). Tommy Davidson and Gilbert Gottfried make short but memorable appearances, and I believe a good time was had by all.

McCall does the lion's share of the fighting here, but Clemens acquits himself well in various physical situations. He's not exactly Jackie Chan, of course, but he's still fun to watch. I was figuring on giving this film four stars until I got to the last twenty minutes or so - those later scenes are so funny, I just had to give Funky Monkey five stars overall. Sure, the whole film is completely unbelievable, but who cares? It's a funny movie that children will almost certainly enjoy, and I believe most adults will find a lot of entertainment value in it as well. Best of all, it's a film parents can let their children watch without any hesitation.

I am 7 years old. I loved this movie because it was so funny! It has so much action! My Grandma let me write this review for her.

This show is very cute. The monkey and other scenes are just absolutely funny. There are a few "get real" plots but that goes for most movies now days. If you have kids at home be prepared to watch this movie over and over again. The husband likes it too, but I think he is ready to hide it for awhile. Buy it you won't regret it. It's a fun movie.

Just take a look at the DVD cover, and read the film title. Yes, they tell you all about the film, but what you still don't know is that `Funky Monkey' is far from fun or funny. Not that the film's idea of super-intelligent and super-athletic chimpanzee is awful, but the simple fact is the chimp in this messy film does not look special at all, looking like an ordinary monkey, the same primate you can find in a zoo.

Add to this unmemorable animal, the film has only a very weak plot. The chimpanzee by the name of Clemens is given a special training for martial arts at a big company's lab. Matthew Modine is the chimp's caretaker who also shows some kung-fu actions. They both run away from there, go to San Diego without trying to cover up their traces, and start to live with a boy whose only concern is to attract the loveliest girl in his high school. The climax includes the silliest football game ever seen on screen, in which the boy, the chimp, the two bumbling white thugs, three Chinese kung-fu masters and the president of the company all join wearing uniform, plus Matthew Modine as referee.

Not only that. The production company decided to use the stunts for the chimpanzee Clemens, but the double (who is always slouching in hairy costume, trying desperately to disguise himself as a chimp) is painfully obvious, and these "actions" are simply dull to see with unremarkable performance from Matthew Modine, not the best choice for this kind of movie. Perhaps they didn't see `Cutthroat Island.'

If you know the troubled process of making this film, you might feel a bit kinder to the product, so let me tell you one thing I learned at IMDb. The film was originally shot in France, but the film company didn't like the results, so they re-shot the almost entire film in San Diego. AND the film went straight to video. I mean no disrespect to the people at Franchise Pictures (which gave us such films as `Driven' and `A Sound of Thunder'), but why didn't you release the first version instead of re-shooting it?

Maybe kids find the film entertaining enough. But I am not sure. I am sure that most adults would be fidgety after watching it for five minutes, thinking `another 85 minutes of this?" And I don't know why, but Gilbert Gottfried also appears as cameo. Well, I waited for him to appear for an hour, and he was not great, either.

Harry Basil has created a new level when it comes to the art of the movie. The plot is near genius and the twist is incredible. The screenplay alone kept me on the edge of my seat. The dialog was breathtaking and the camera shots flowed in perfect harmony throughout the entire film. So why the 3 star rating you ask, one word, acting. Poor poor acting throughout the movie really held it back from being considered the true classic that it could have been. If only they had cast some more experienced human actors the film could have been box office gold, instead it was a stright to DVD flick. The monkey, Ramesey the chimp, did a decent job but he just didnt have the raw talent and experience to pick up the slack of the other actors. If you can get past the acting Funky Monkeys screenplay has some valuable lessons and paints a good picture of Americas economy today. The film is a microcasim and metaphor for Americas corporations exploiting the American public for a quick buck. The public of course being represented by the chimp and the corporations as the evil scientist. Many people did not see the underlying themes of Funky Monkey, but I have after multiple viewings. The movie is saturated with groundbreaking director Harry Basils views on commerce, free speech, sexual orientation, Monarchy in 17th century France, and the new NHL rule changes. Overall Funky Monkey teaches us that bad acting can ruin great film.

I have a 6yr old and 3yr old and they both love this movie. My son is almost 7 and whenever he has a friend over, he wants to watch this movie with them and they laugh like crazy. Yes, a monkey may not be the best actor, but com'on...it's a kids movie and to see the monkey doing silly things and fighting the bad guys, was very entertaining for the kids. NO...it's not the Shawshank Redemption with great actors and a unique plot, but it's for KIDS. Bottom line is, the monkey's funny and the bad guys aren't so bad that they're too scary. Great movie for Kids and I enjoyed watching them enjoy it. We rented it so many times, that I had to come to Amazon to find the DVD so I could just buy it.

It is a very good movie and the service was great. There is not any problems with the DVD & there are no problems at all.

I hadn't heard of this movie, but my husband got it for my little girl who loves monkey's and this movie is funny and really cute. Fun for the whole family!

I have boys 9, 7 and 6. They loved this movie. Lots of laughs. Silly plot but I'm happy to have movies this age group can enjoy that aren't violent, etc.

This is family movie, and reviews of 1 star are written by adults wanting an A-rate action film. This was never intended to be anything but a fun romp the entire family can enjoy, evidenced by the presence of "Touched by an Angel's" Roma Downey.

I would caution parents on one adult theme prevalent throughout the movie, and that is the obvious effeminate nature of the two bumbling assistants to Flick. Hollywood, it seems, just can't resist trying to slip in a little child indoctrination to that lifestyle.

The laughs are many, with the ending football scene taking the prize.

Overall, there are much better family films with much more depth and feeling, such as "MVP: Most Valuable Primate" or "Polly."
"Funky Monkey" tries to get serious a couple times but never nudges the heart like many other better films. As such, this makes a good rental for a few laughs, but isn't one I'd add to my collection for posterity.