Monk, le retour

Tony Shalhoub is now 70 years old, I most recently enjoyed him in 'Mrs Maisel' where he plays a character with similar issues. But not nearly as OCD as Adrian Monk. This movie really offers not much new, it even includes most of the old TV series cast members.

But that is not a bad thing, in fact it is a good thing. It is familiar, we don't need to get used to a whole host of new characters. This movie, at just over 90 minutes, is as good and entertaining as the typical 'Monk' TV show.

There is a death, made to look accidental, but some things just don't add up. It is a bungee jump gone wrong, the cord is six feet too long, but the experienced jumper is very meticulous in constructing his cord. "Measure twice and cut once" is his approach. (As it turns out I figured out pretty quickly how the crime was likely committed and it turned out I was right.)

So most of the second half of the movie is seeing how Monk will gather and piece together clues. His interaction with other characters is as much fun to watch.

No, this isn't a great or innovative movie but it is entertaining if you like 'Monk.' My wife and I watched it at home, streaming on Peacock.

While one review here says that nostalgia is causing people to overrate this TV movie, I'm inclined to think that it's making people underrating it, because they're forgetting that, as funny and brilliant as the show could be, and as great as Tony Shalhoub was, the series always flawed and towards the end could be genuinely bad.

In the movie, Monk, an brilliant ex-detective with diagnostically fuzzy OCD is at the end of his always short rope. But when murder happens close to home (I really hate "this time it's personal" plot lines, but what can you do?) Monk comes out of retirement for what he's determined to be one last time.

As always, Monk unsteadily treads the line between character-driven comedy and cartoonish laughs. Monk sometimes responds as someone trapped in a world of obsessions, and sometimes just acts like a weird two-year-old having a freak-out.

In short, the movie, like the series is sometimes smart, and sometimes irretrievably dumb.

The mystery itself is decent though unexception - I figured it out way before Monk. The returning characters are decent although underutilized (except Randy, who is overutilized). The new characters are bland and add nothing, which is unfortunate.

Shalhoub, though, is still great, and his dry, anguished weirdness is still funny, even if it is the same shtick he's always done.

If you're expecting more than an overlong episode of the series then you'll be disappointed, but if you just want to see one more episode of Monk, this is worthwhile.

Well, I hope this won't be the last case for Adrian Monk. It's been so long since the series ended and it was a sheer joy to see the whole gang back together again.

Tony Shalhoub is such an underrated actor. He pitches everything just right and it's as if he has never been away for so long. He retains the quirkyness, the awkwardness and some great humour.

The plot is good, James Purefoy makes a good baddie and the supporting gang all do a great job. Jason Gray-Stanford (Disher) chips in with some hilarious attempts to solve the case, too.

So while i understand that Shalhoub might not want to get involved with another Monk series, I do hope he'll agree to do the occasional movie.

Some TV reboots -- or movie-length one-offs based on long-cancelled shows -- turn out to be major disappointments. Not so with "Mr. Monk's Last Case," in which the Defective Detective is called upon to investigate a horrifying accident involving his daughter's fiance. Once again, he drives everyone crazy with his obsessive/compulsive behavior -- the scene in which he pretends to be a bartender goes on for too long (which, frankly, the series' most memorable comedy bits often did, anyway) -- but watching him try to play master mixologist under the judgmental eye of a horde of customers was still laugh-out-loud funny. Balancing out the chuckles: Monk's suicidal tendencies, borne of the fact that he hasn't solved a murder in ten years (and hasn't even been asked to), the memoir he has written has elicited a polite but firm "No!" from his publisher, and he's beginning to feel not just unhappy, but useless. (Never has Shalhoub looked more hangdog, more emotionally drained; every crease on his aging face tells a sad tale all its own.) Most of the old gang is on hand to help him, the villain is as evil as any he's ever encountered, the ending is a tear-jerker, and if the Big Reveal -- that inevitable moment when he explains exactly how the crime was committed -- seems a bit predictable, so what? The movie is a fine addition to the Adrian Monk mythos, and -- even better -- it looks like this won't be his swan song, after all. Maybe he'll follow in Columbo's footsteps and keep coming back. We can only hope.

For those saying Monk acts like a cartoonish two year old- you are missing the point of the show. I am a therapist who also suffers from OCD so I have personal and professional knowledge in mental health diagnosis. Usually I hate portrayal of mental health diagnosis in television and movies because it's portrayed inaccurately and mostly does more harm than good in stigma. However, Monk is one of the only exceptions. Monk walks the line of making fun of a disease that takes the joy out of most things without mocking it. Besides some exaggerations (which is to be expected in a TV show); Monk is mostly accurate in its representation. OCD is multifaceted- there's 4 types that present differently for each person (Monk displays all 4 types). I couldn't be more different than Monk yet somehow, felt understood. It made conversations about OCD easier to have with my family and friends. I was able to show them things I felt that I found hard to explain myself. Sometimes the intrusive and repetitive thoughts can be so loud it is hard to concentrate on anything else. This explains why Monk displays erratic, selfish and sometimes, annoying behavior (much like a 2 year old).

If you understand this show, if you love, miss and wish it was on for more seasons- this movie is for you. If not, skip it.

P. S- while Psych and Monk have some overlapping features, they are different shows and should be treated as such. If you like the Psych movies/ show that doesn't mean you'll like Monk and vice versa. To compare them is a disservice to both shows.