The Full Monty TV review: swaps comedy for heartfelt, searing critique of modern Britain

The Full Monty was such a humongous success it's sometimes easy to forget just how gritty and depressing the 1997 movie actually is. 

Made for just $3.5 million, its story of six unemployed former steel workers forming a male striptease act to make some money went on to gross $258 million worldwide, while also being nominated for four Academy Awards, winning one. 

Created and written by the original’s scribe Simon Beaufoy, The Fully Monty TV show is an eight-episode limited series, though it doesn't involve any stripping this time around. Gaz (Robert Carlyle), Dave (Mark Addy), Gerald (Tom Wilkinson), Lomper (Steve Huison), Horse (Paul Barber) and Jean (Lesley Sharp) all return, joined by Gaz's daughter Destiny (Talitha Wing) and Lomper's husband Dennis (Paul Clayton).

What The Full Monty lacks in nudity, it more than makes up for with a blistering and honest critique of modern Britain. While the movie ended in a hopeful manner, it clearly didn't last long for its characters. Things have only gotten worse. In the 26-years since they finished dancing to Tom Jones' "You Can Leave Your Hat On," all of the characters have repeatedly been let down by seven Prime Ministers and governments who have been so focused on growth and austerity that they've left ordinary people behind. 

With the help of co-writer Alice Nutter, Beaufoy uses the characters' struggles to examine prescient issues and themes that affect and blight millions of people currently living in the UK today. Viewers expecting The Full Monty to have the hearty laughs of its predecessor will be left disappointed. This has more in common with a Ken Loach movie. 

This is both a positive and a negative. While some of the show's laughs do land, most feel too broad and outlandish. "Leveling Up," the opening episode of the series, revolves around Destiny accidentally stealing a dog that's just won Britain's Got Talent. When compared to the serious subject matters that The Full Monty is covering, this just makes the show feel uneven. You're often left to wonder whether you should laugh or cry. So you end up doing neither. 

When The Full Monty is at its best, though, it is surprisingly deep, powerful and thought-provoking. Over the course of the series, the characters have to contend with a myriad of everyday issues. These include mental health struggles, suicide, grief, affairs, food banks, assisting asylum seekers, dealing with a complete lack of social services, constantly being confronted by the wealth gap and trying not to fall through the ever-increasing holes in society.

Beaufoy and Nutter cover each of these topics in a nuanced and empathetic fashion. While Beaufoy only really explored these themes in the original version of The Full Monty, Nutter has repeatedly dived into them when writing on Jimmy McGovern's The Street, Moving On and Accused.

The Full Monty TV series doesn't reach the quality of these shows or the magic of the original movie, although it nearly does so at times. It's ultimately let down by some average direction that fails to make the most of its set-pieces and emotional moments. However it does manage to remain engaging and thoughtful all the way through to its conclusion. Die-hard fans of the original will take great comfort in reconnecting with the characters.

The show has to get over a shaky opening episode to reach this promise, though. As well as its main dog-napping plot, "Leveling Up" suggests that its 50-minute long episodes may be too long to justify. Especially as the main ensemble aren't in enough scenes together. But thanks to some splendid performances, most notably from Sharp, Barber, Addy and Wing, the show quickly becomes more captivating. The Full Monty understands that while the characters are desperate, they're still spirited and hopeful that they can survive their predicaments and find reasons to be happy.

By the end of its second episode "Supply Chain Economics," which revolves around Dave helping out a child being bullied at the school where he works as a caretaker, you're not just fine with the lack of scenes featuring the old Full Monty gang, you're grateful for the additional length of the episodes. Beaufoy and Nutter use this time to make you genuinely care for the characters, while underlining the importance of community.

The Full Monty might not be ground-breaking, but it tells important stories that need to be seen and heard. Thanks to the success of the original movie it's based on, hopefully a lot of people will end up seeing and listening to them.

The Full Monty TV show is now streaming on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.