Ageing strippers have plenty to reveal
CATCHING up with them after 26 years, what can we expect from The Full Monty gang?
Camaraderie, chaos, dodgy scrapes? Naturally.
Another full striptease? You may be disappointed.
Disney’s new eight-part series, launching next week, finds Robert Carlyle’s Gaz and pals now into their 60s and 70s, a wee bit beyond that malarkey.
If their money-making plan in the original film initially seemed a bit mad – to bare all at a raucous ladies’ night event – then these days, no disrespect, it wouldn’t bear thinking about.
That’s not to say money is no longer a worry. Gaz, for one, continues to lead a shambolic existence. And there are others to whom he now has a duty.
Son Nathan (originally played by William Snape) is doing OK as a local bobby, but there’s Nathan’s disabled son to think about.
Hence a money-making scam that lands in Gaz’s lap is one we find him struggling to resist.
Gaz also has a teenage daughter he hasn’t seen nearly enough of – the smart, kind, but wayward Destiny (Talitha Wing) – who’s currently having to live under the same roof as her mum’s boyfriend.
As for the rest, Dave (Mark Addy), now the school’s caretaker, is still with Lesley Sharp’s Jean, its head. But they’ve had their troubles.
Lomper (Steve Huison) is no longer with Hugo Speer’s Guy (although Guy is still around). The man in his life for years now has been Dennis (Paul Clayton), with whom he runs the local cafe. Mind you, Lomper has a shocking secret.
The cafe is where we also find the other two ex-troupe members, Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) and Horse (Paul Barber). It’s where they all come to chew the fat and wonder how the world’s gone quite so mad.
Just as you’d expect, this new Full Monty series, for which creator Simon Beaufoy teamed up with co-writer Alice Nutter, is full of warmth and wit.
With eight hours of screentime to fill, it also explores each character in far more depth, taking us at times down darker paths. And there’s greater emphasis on the social issues that provide the backdrop to all this.
So, yes, there’s lots to engage with, assuming you’re happy to invest the time. That, and the £7.99 subscription.
If you’d rather just enjoy the original film again, that’s £4.99 on Amazon Prime.