Boy genius Michael Dean (Adkins) teams up with a super-talented chimpanzee and his caretaker (Modine) to take down an animal testing lab. In exchange the scientist gives the boy some pointer... Read allBoy genius Michael Dean (Adkins) teams up with a super-talented chimpanzee and his caretaker (Modine) to take down an animal testing lab. In exchange the scientist gives the boy some pointers on the girl of his dreams.Boy genius Michael Dean (Adkins) teams up with a super-talented chimpanzee and his caretaker (Modine) to take down an animal testing lab. In exchange the scientist gives the boy some pointers on the girl of his dreams.
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In all my years of critiqeing other people's works I have never come across a film without fault, but Funky Monkey has changed my perspective on the media of film forever.
-Martin Scorcassie
I am a student of film, and have been for several years. And the concept of a cyber, kung-fu, satirical chimpanzee had me wondering, "Is this the film that's going to break the mold?" Let's face it, America has never been let down by any piece of cinema that features a simian costar. After such great classics as "Monkey Trouble" and "Dunston Checks In", I thought that the best ideas were already taken. But then comes "Funky Monkey". I laughed, I cried, I contemplated suicide.
Now I've read about demon possession in the Bible, but that still doesn't explain why someone would create such a product of evil. First off, having at least a shred of intelligence, I realized that a chimpanzee was in fact an ape, not a monkey at all. However, I was sure that the filmmakers would clear this problem up further into the film. They didn't. Let me sum up this work of art: A company by the name of Z.I.T. has decided to train chimpanzees as soldiers. Why? I think they mention something about the soldiers working for bananas, but when it would cost about an estimated 13 million dollars of government money to train one chimp, this doesn't seem cost-effective. Well anyways, Z.I.T. brings in a CIA specialist (Matthew Modine) to train Clemens (The Chimp). Clemens is everything Z.I.T. hoped for. He can take out an entire shift of guards, who all appear to have gotten their training skills at the local mall, and yet still manage to remind us that we're watching a kid's movie. As you may have guessed, Modine finds out that Z.I.T.'s intentions may be evil (Gasp!) and decides to break Clemens out. Being a CIA agent and all, Modine knows that best way to make himself disappear is to go to a large city, rent a guest room, regularly make appearances on television while fighting crime, and using checks to pay for everything.
Z.I.T. finds out where Modine is staying, and sends two of their finest to retrieve him. These guards are possibly the greatest comedy team up since Martin and Lewis, or was it Turner and Hooch? It doesn't matter anyways, because in the end, for a heck of a twist ending, the good guys win!!! Yay! Hooray for predictability! Throw in a nerdy kid who learns to be himself, a lonely mom who needs a date, and music montages that feature songs that would even be blackballed by Radio Disney and you get "Funky Monkey". The climax to the movie? A football game! Played by thugs, bumblers, a chimp, and the nerd boy. No one seems to care about such substitutions at a high school football game.
Funky Monkey never lets up! It's edge of your seat entertainment. Some might even call this the "American Beauty" of monkey-filled features. After finishing this epic, I recalled hearing a story about a railroad worker who lost much of his brain functions when a metal rod pierced his temporal lobe. Funky Monkey is a metal rod among movies.
Now I've read about demon possession in the Bible, but that still doesn't explain why someone would create such a product of evil. First off, having at least a shred of intelligence, I realized that a chimpanzee was in fact an ape, not a monkey at all. However, I was sure that the filmmakers would clear this problem up further into the film. They didn't. Let me sum up this work of art: A company by the name of Z.I.T. has decided to train chimpanzees as soldiers. Why? I think they mention something about the soldiers working for bananas, but when it would cost about an estimated 13 million dollars of government money to train one chimp, this doesn't seem cost-effective. Well anyways, Z.I.T. brings in a CIA specialist (Matthew Modine) to train Clemens (The Chimp). Clemens is everything Z.I.T. hoped for. He can take out an entire shift of guards, who all appear to have gotten their training skills at the local mall, and yet still manage to remind us that we're watching a kid's movie. As you may have guessed, Modine finds out that Z.I.T.'s intentions may be evil (Gasp!) and decides to break Clemens out. Being a CIA agent and all, Modine knows that best way to make himself disappear is to go to a large city, rent a guest room, regularly make appearances on television while fighting crime, and using checks to pay for everything.
Z.I.T. finds out where Modine is staying, and sends two of their finest to retrieve him. These guards are possibly the greatest comedy team up since Martin and Lewis, or was it Turner and Hooch? It doesn't matter anyways, because in the end, for a heck of a twist ending, the good guys win!!! Yay! Hooray for predictability! Throw in a nerdy kid who learns to be himself, a lonely mom who needs a date, and music montages that feature songs that would even be blackballed by Radio Disney and you get "Funky Monkey". The climax to the movie? A football game! Played by thugs, bumblers, a chimp, and the nerd boy. No one seems to care about such substitutions at a high school football game.
Funky Monkey never lets up! It's edge of your seat entertainment. Some might even call this the "American Beauty" of monkey-filled features. After finishing this epic, I recalled hearing a story about a railroad worker who lost much of his brain functions when a metal rod pierced his temporal lobe. Funky Monkey is a metal rod among movies.
Funky Monkey is bae. Never in my life have i seen such a beautiful monke. I want to marry funky monke
This is the story of two guys who found a copy of 'Funky Monkey.' Finding this seemed odd at the time figuring that there are still posters for the movie at the local Cineplex Odeon. After seeing such classics as 'Every Which Way But Loose' and 'Project X,' these two guys figured movies with monkeys are awesome.
These guys were in for a long ride as they watched this movie. There was some monkey that was replaced by a Stunt MAN when action sequences were required. It was apparent that the monkey wasn't trained in the school of Shakespearean acting. Perhaps replacing the monkey with Ben Affleck might have helped the guys thought.
Maybe a strong sidekick would help like a Jackie Chan or heck maybe even Hulk Hogan. Luckily this movie had amazing martial artist and Jet Li look-a-like Matthew Modine. While some might argue that Matthew Modine doesn't come close to Jet Li, camera tricks prove that he is every bit as good. When it becomes obvious that an untrained chimp can't handle the movie, the movie leans on Matthew Modine to be the real star.
Did I mention that there is some dorky kid that develops a bond with Modine and the monkey? Is there a possibility that the kid learns confidence and even picks up a girl in this movie? Even Matthew Modine should get jealous with this one (because using the pick-up line 'I'm second fiddle to a monkey' doesn't seem to work with the ladies.)
Shortly after watching this movie the two guys got a phone call from Matthew Modine telling them 'Seven days.'
These guys were in for a long ride as they watched this movie. There was some monkey that was replaced by a Stunt MAN when action sequences were required. It was apparent that the monkey wasn't trained in the school of Shakespearean acting. Perhaps replacing the monkey with Ben Affleck might have helped the guys thought.
Maybe a strong sidekick would help like a Jackie Chan or heck maybe even Hulk Hogan. Luckily this movie had amazing martial artist and Jet Li look-a-like Matthew Modine. While some might argue that Matthew Modine doesn't come close to Jet Li, camera tricks prove that he is every bit as good. When it becomes obvious that an untrained chimp can't handle the movie, the movie leans on Matthew Modine to be the real star.
Did I mention that there is some dorky kid that develops a bond with Modine and the monkey? Is there a possibility that the kid learns confidence and even picks up a girl in this movie? Even Matthew Modine should get jealous with this one (because using the pick-up line 'I'm second fiddle to a monkey' doesn't seem to work with the ladies.)
Shortly after watching this movie the two guys got a phone call from Matthew Modine telling them 'Seven days.'
When I sat down to watch "Funky Monkey" with the family, I must admit that I didn't have any particular expectations to the movie, given the synopsis. But it turned out that "Funky Monkey" was actually a rather funny and entertaining movie for being a family movie and all.
The story is about a top secret program to develop super soldiers from monkeys. Yeah, I know. But when the main chimpanzee escapes captivity with help from his trainer, things change dramatically as both trainer and chimpanzee have to find places in life outside the research facility.
There is an abundance of hilarious scenes throughout the movie, which had the entire family laughing loudly many times. So the enjoyment factor of "Funky Monkey" is rather big if you sit down as as family to watch the movie.
Now, the chimpanzee did perform quite well in its scenes, but there were some fighting scenes where it was just gut-awful obvious that it was a man in a chimpanzee costume trying to pass for a monkey.
There are a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, which includes Matthew Modine, Taylor Negron, Gilbert Gottfried, Fred Ward and Jeffrey Tambor. The hired cast were performing well with their given roles and characters, taking the storyline into consideration.
All in all, then "Funky Monkey" is an enjoyable movie for the entire family.
The story is about a top secret program to develop super soldiers from monkeys. Yeah, I know. But when the main chimpanzee escapes captivity with help from his trainer, things change dramatically as both trainer and chimpanzee have to find places in life outside the research facility.
There is an abundance of hilarious scenes throughout the movie, which had the entire family laughing loudly many times. So the enjoyment factor of "Funky Monkey" is rather big if you sit down as as family to watch the movie.
Now, the chimpanzee did perform quite well in its scenes, but there were some fighting scenes where it was just gut-awful obvious that it was a man in a chimpanzee costume trying to pass for a monkey.
There are a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, which includes Matthew Modine, Taylor Negron, Gilbert Gottfried, Fred Ward and Jeffrey Tambor. The hired cast were performing well with their given roles and characters, taking the storyline into consideration.
All in all, then "Funky Monkey" is an enjoyable movie for the entire family.
Did you know
- TriviaThe movie was originally shot in France. But when the studio did not like the results, they decided to re-shoot almost the entire movie in San Diego, California. Only a handful of minutes of the original movie shot in France made it to the final cut.
- GoofsWhen Clements the chimp sprays Michael with the hose, a human hand is visible at the bottom of the screen steadying the sprayer.
- ConnectionsReferenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Informers/The Soloist/Tyson (2009)
- How long is Funky Monkey?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Funky Monkey
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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