It’s been roughly a quarter century since the men of Sheffield, England, danced onstage going The Full Monty, and a lot has happened. In FX’s limited series, you won’t see any steelworkers stripping to “You Sexy Thing.” “No one wants to see that,” star Robert Carlyle says, laughing.
Despite retaining the 1997 film’s title, the eight-episode comedic drama from original writer Simon Beaufoy shines a light on new challenges faced by the local community and its rascally inhabitants, raising awareness around education and poverty. Here’s why this chapter, full of heart, is worth a look.
(Credit: Ben Blackall/FX)
1. Everyone’s back!
“It was a bit like putting on a comfortable jacket,” Mark Addy says of stepping back into his role as sweet Dave alongside Carlyle’s Gaz and Lesley Sharp’s Jean. Also appearing: Tom Wilkinson (crabby Gerald), Hugo Speer (well-endowed Guy), Paul Barber (dance king Horse), and Steve Huison (shy Lomper). Even Wim Snape reprises his role as Gaz’s now-grown son, Nathan.
2. They’re older but not necessarily wiser.
Gaz has straightened his life out in some way, but, notes Carlyle, “He’s still the same kind of guy in terms of, he’s always got a plan.” He also struggles with his fatherly responsibilities to tough teen Destiny (notable newcomer Talitha Wing). Meanwhile, the connection may be unraveling for Dave and wife Jean, who both work at the Sheffield Spires Academy, him as caretaker, her as headmistress. According to Sharp, “She got onto the conveyer belt of work, ambition and life and isn’t waiting around.”
3. Two words: Sheffield shenanigans!
There’s no shortage of silly situations for the ensemble: Destiny has acquired her father’s sense of adventure, which results in a sensational grand theft auto (and grand theft canine!) experience. Lomper leads the chase after an important pigeon. And Dave bonds with a lonely 12-year-old student, Dean (Aiden Cook), better known as Twiglet; they share a jolly choreographed floor-polishing session at the school gym set to “Bad Moon Rising.”
The Full Monty, Streaming now, Hulu
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This story originally appeared on TV Insider
