Common Sense Note
Crass jokes and situations, excessive sexual innuendo, and some moderate profanity should be noted. Parents should be aware that there are copulating animals, sexually aroused humans, a nude female showering in silhouette, and enough cleavage and innuendo to put a James Bond movie to shame.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Scott G. Mignola
If you enjoy the most juvenile kind of erection- and orifice-based humor, or games of keep-away played with human internal organs, or the notion of seeing Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle) sing "Brick House" and get pantsed by an orangutan, then you just might get your money's worth out of MONKEYBONE. But be warned: These things sound funnier than the movie ever manages to make them.
The painful truth is that MONKEYBONE starts out bad and gets progressively worse as the hope of even the most meager payoff disintegrates. The mix of live action, animation, puppetry, and wild funhouse scenery never lives up to its intriguing promise, not just because the effects are less than convincing, but because in adapting Kaja Blackley's graphic novel Dark Town, screenwriter Sam Hamm fails to intrigue us on any level. The string of gags he delivers in place of a story is too lame even to satisfy thirteen-year-olds looking for a few cheap laughs.
Director Henry Selick, whose genius with stop-motion effects is evidenced by his films James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas, seems to needs producer Tim Burton close by to keep him on course. For some, Rose McGowan in a cleavage-revealing cat suit will provide some pleasant diversion, but Whoopi Goldberg as Death? Somebody obviously thought the mere idea of it was so hilarious that they didn?t need to give her anything funny to do. If you want to see live action and puppetry put to fine use together, skip this mess and see the little-known gem Dreamchild.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentCopulating animals; sexually aroused humans; nude female showering in silhouette; enough cleavage and innuendo to put a James Bond movie to shame. |
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ViolenceSome cartoon clobbering and organ tossing. A woman pulls the plug on her comatose brother. |
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LanguageSome moderate profanity throughout. |
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Social BehaviorMany crass jokes and gags. |
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