Le monstre

What an excellent movie 'Il Mostro' is! It is absolutely certain that it will destroy you from the first moment.

Make sure you watch it in Italian audio though. A lot of Benigni's (as of course any other actor's) performance comes out of projecting his lines and Benigni always sounds hilarious.

And don't expect to see 'scary movie' here. This is quality comedy, with great script and a genius actor.

Don't miss it!

9/10

Roberto Benigni's "The Monster" is a laugh-a-second romp that is truly reminiscent of the greater works of Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Peter Sellers. Benigni stars as a loser who works for a mannequin company who unwittingly becomes caught up with the authorities who believe that he is the titled character, a man who has been raping and murdering women all over the city. Naturally, Benigni is not the guy they are after but all the strange coincidences make him appear to be the criminal. Undercover beauty Nicoletta Braschi (Benigni's real-life wife) tries to trap Benigni by enticing him in the most creative ways. The film is great fun, but it is very adult-oriented with sexual situations and innuendos galore. Overall "The Monster" is a really great film and Benigni fans will love it more than most others. Plot resolution late hurts the film, but not enough to keep it from being very successful overall. 4 stars out of 5.

What Einstein did for the world of science Benigni has done for the world of cinema.

Since being captivated and devastated (in a brilliantly sad way) by "La Vita e Bella", I've been eager to seek out other Benigni films. I was thrilled to find "Johnny Stecchino" and "Il Mostro" on the shelves of my local video store.

Both are works of comedic genius! While Benigni employs very similar formulas and plot devices (mistaken identity, physical humour and petty theft) the plots are vastly different but both equally hilarious. "Il Mostro", as well as "Johnny Stecchino" will have you laughing within a minute of pressing play on your VCR. Rent these both for a night of back to back gut-busting fun!

After seeing the trailer for this film, in France and in French, I thought that it should be given a wide berth. But I watched it with a friend one night and still laugh about it 10 years later. It was brilliant. Absolute pure genius. While the scenes looked ridiculous in the trailer, they were very funny in the context of the film. The story is simple, innocent bumbler is mistaken for a serial killer, but the talent of Benigni, both in his writing and his acting, makes the error plausible and for a great film. The scene on the scaffolding is one of my all time favorite comedy moments and the several unexpected meetings with a neighbour, whilst Benigni is walking along on his haunches (trying to avoid his caretaker as he is behind in his rent)are both funny and very touching, especially when Nicoletta Braschi comes on the scene. Just watch it and enjoy. But only if it's in it's original version, Italian. Otherwise don't!

It seems that Roberto Begnini can't go wrong when it comes to comedy. In a way, he might be the last / only great comedian of our times, who writes, acts, and (usually)directs films at the same time. He alone keeps alive this classic tradition of films, which genre's rules are invented and perfected by such greatness's as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, not to mention director giant Federico Fellini. This one is also a warm-hearted, humane, and really funny, which gives an unusual yet very likable mix, especially in times of so-called humorous films with endless quantities of stupid fart jokes and toilet humor. There might be some flaws however, but none too disturbing. Recommended!