Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly delightful!
Review: I had my reservations about this film because of all the negative reviews I read about it, but I love Chris Kattan, so I decided to give it a chance. I was surprisingly delighted in this hilarious movie! "Citizen Kane" it's not, but it's not supposed to be either. It's a zany, bizarre and totally "out there" kind of movie, and escapism at it's best! It doesn't use the standard formula of most movies either (a refreshing change!), and I found the story and plot very original. Chris Kattan is hilarious in his role (my sides were aching from laughing so much) and Brendan Fraser proves once again that he can take on a myriad of roles with ease.The opening sequence with the cartoon is probably the "wierdest" scene in the movie and I almost turned it off right there (thinking that the rest of the movie would follow in the same manner), but sheer curiosity kept me watching. The visuals are also quite impressive and lend a certain "Beetlejuice" meets "Nightmare Before Christmas" feel to them. This is a fun movie through and through. Worth a "rent" at least!
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding acting and directing! Fraser's awesome!
Review: I'm not just a Fraser fan, but a movie fan as well and "MonkeyBone" was great fun. I don't understand why it wasn't more successful at the box office except to say, I don't think it was promoted very well. I think if it had been, people would've jumped to the theatres to see it. It was very creative and imaginative and just plain fun to watch. My favorite scene in the whole movie was Brendan Fraser's "Brick House" scene when Monkeybone has taken over Stu's body and he's at a benefit fund raiser when Dave Foley's character comes streaking through the guests and Stu distracts everyone by singing to Bridget Fonda. It's rare an actor like him can do it all. I'd like to see him do more singing (and dancing) in future films. This is a must see for any Fraser fans, as well as people who are tired of the same ol' movies out there. If you've put off seeing it because it wasn't a box office smash, you're missing out on a great movie. Also check out the movie review at Entertainment Weekly's site. I believe they gave it a B+.
Rating:
Summary: I know it looks stupid, but trust me.......ts funny
Review: I know it may look stupid but it is real funny. This movie is about a guy who is in a deep deep coma. He is in this fantasy land kinda thing. It reminds me of the set of Tim Burton's nightmare before christmas. Then he has this kinda pet named "Monkey Bone". Then once he finally gonna get out, Monkey bone betrays him. So now Stu (Brendan Fraser)has to find a way back to his girlfriend. This is a real funny movie. It has the kinda smart comedy we needed years ago.
Rating: 
Summary: Messy Comedy, But Sometimes Funny, Especially Chris Kattan
Review: Based on the graphic novel "Dark Town" by Kaja Blackley, "Monkeybone" stars Brendan Fraser as most popular cartoonist Stu, who finds himself in a coma after a very unfortunate, and silly, car accident. But don't take it seriously here; it's just a setup for a crazy ride that is to follow. The film is often called messy, and it is indeed. While Stu is trapped in a mysterious world between death and life, it becomes clear. A stop-motion animation monkey Stu created pops up there alive (and with a voice of one talented actor, regular of Coen Brothers films), and makes a havoc in this alternate world. Very irritating monkey, but somehow he offers a help to send Stu back to life. But, it's just the beginning. As you see soon after the opening credit, this monkey is a symbol of Stu's repressed sexual desire, and, well, those words "monkey" and "bone" are sometimes used as slang with very sexual connotation. But the studio doesn't persue this theme too much, so kids may watch this without worrying the parents. However, at the same time, because of this attitude and other reasons, the film is too timid for those who want to laugh heartily. Yes, some scenes are funny. Chris Kattan playing the part of a "Organ Doner" is hilarious, being literally a "dead man walking," but you have to wait more than one hour. Wait is worth, but the film is, I thought, buried in its costly-looking production designs. They are really good, I assure you, and the director is Henry Selick, the one responsible for the magnificient "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Fraser and Fonda both talented players look uncomfortable, not knowing what to do with the two-dementional characters and tepid gags. Still, for its interesting designs and funny Kattan, it is worth watching though I don't say you should do it in a hurry.
Rating: 
Summary: Monkeyblah
Review: Synopsis:
A freak car crash, (involving a giant inflatable monkey) sends cartoonist Stu Miley (Brenden Fraser) into coma and into a nightmarish and bizarre between world called Downtown where coma patients must wait for their ticket back. There he meets an aspect of his twisted personality, a character he created called Monkeybone. As Stu waits in limbo, back in the real world where his girlfriend (Bridget Fonda) waits for him to recover, his sister, Kimmy plans to pull the plug. Monkeybone and Stu discover her plans and try to escape back to the real world. But a double-cross nearly dooms Stu and his life altogether and sends Monkeybone on a crazy (and somewhat raunchy) escapade in the real world. About the movie:
I found this movie somewhat painful to watch and was left wondering how anyone could think that something this bizarre and poorly written would do well in the theaters. (It didn't do that well). As a movie, this one is pretty odd overall, and the script is below par at best. There are quite a few spots that could use more exposition, and the main characters definitely needed to be fleshed out more. None of them make you care a whit about what happens to them. Bridget Fonda is nice to look at, but she was totally luke-warm in her role as Stu's girlfriend (not that she had much to work with) and Brendan Fraser's character is so neurotic as to make you wonder why she'd even like him. Whoopi Goldberg has a cameo as Death, but her role is pretty much a yawner as well. This is not to mention that there are some pretty gross things in this movie. Chris Kattan (who proves in this role that he is a fantastic physical comedian, something worth seeing, if only for his acting) running around as a reanimated dead guy with a broken neck was extremely entertaining, for his physical comedy, but the bit with the organs falling out onto people was in really bad taste and more than a little gross. The end result of all of this is that you have a weak movie that subsists mainly on bodily function jokes and sexual gags for almost all of its humor, and of that, most of it is of the extremely low brow and immature sort. If you happen to like that sort of humor, great, but me, I got tired of being browbeaten with it by halfway through the movie. The only thing semi redeeming about this movie was the sophisticated stop motion photography that was used in creating the Monkeybone character. It really is impressive to see what they pulled off, somewhat akin to the sort of stuff done in Who-Framed Roger Rabbit. It's a shame it was wasted in a movie that ended up being so painful to watch. Neat special effects don't make a movie. Script, plot and acting do, and while Fraser and Kattan were decent in their parts, the rest was sorely lacking. Not the most painful movie I've seen, but it's lurking down there nearby. About the DVD:
Monkeybone comes in a standard hard case in 1.85:1 widescreen format with 5.1 Dolby digital sound. It contains English and French audio tracks and English and Spanish subtitles. The picture and sound are quite good. The cover of this DVD release claims that it's the SPECIAL EDITION. Considering that there never was a regular DVD release of this movie, that label is a bit pretentious. Of course, it does make up for it by being loaded with extra goodies, not that the extra goodies make up for the movie itself. Among the special features are, a director's commentary, 11 extended scenes, an alternate ending (both with optional director's commentary), 7 animation studies for scenes in the movie, a gallery of stills, and the obligatory theatrical trailers. The director's commentary is interesting, as he talks about what it took to put the movie together, mostly from a production point of view. His commentary helps explain how certain scenes and shots were put together and the amount of work needed to make them solid and believable. Interestingly, near the end of the commentary, there seems to be a sense of consternation in his conversation as he subtly wondered in a roundabout way why his movie hadn't done better in the box office. I'm not a film critic, but I probably could answer that one. It was just too off the wall, a little too weird and simply had humor that was too immature (and at one point, gross) for most audiences. I certainly would suggest previewing this before letting kids watch it. Anyway, back to the point. While all these goodies on the DVD are nice, they really don't make up for the fact that the movie itself is so poor. 2 stars for a decent DVD release and a not so good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Awful
Review: This film could have been good. It could have been like a live action "Nightmare Before Christmas" (which apparently the director also did) but it just shoots itself in the foot. The storyline is kind of fun until Monkeybone knocks out Brendan Frasier and takes his ticket out of Downtown. Then it actually has a conflict we've all seen before, and its only too predictable about what the result will be. The humor is lost and some times I raised an eyebrow and wondered whether or not I was supposed to laugh, while some other parts were just plain weird. Monkeybone isn't funny at all, and I wanted some one to light the little bugger on fire. The only reason I gave this two stars was the inclusion of Miss Kitty and Chris Kataan in this movie. Otherwise...it just stinks.
Rating:
Summary: 2 star comedy, 5 star animation masterpiece
Review: Monkeybone is without doubt one of the most underrated and badly-marketed films of recent years. The DVD cover was very misleading, and made it look like a tasteless B-comedy; the names of Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda and Chris Kattan didn't do much good either. I never would have dreamed of picking it up in the video store if it wasn't for the director, his name hardly even noticeable on the back cover. Henry Selick is the man responsible for two of the most remarkable animation features of the 90s - James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton's vision, sure, but ultimately Selick's film). Both were sardonic, immensely stylish animated films and had some of the most wonderfully designed cartoon characters I've ever seen. Watching Monkeybone proves beyond doubt that even though Burton was the main brain behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, as far as design and character creation goes, most of the credit for the brilliant animation work should go to Mr. Selick. On Monkeybone Selick decided to make his first attempt at directing live actors, and does less than well. Aside from having a not very impressive lead actor in Brendan Fraser, most of the live action part of the film is - despite some moments of inspiration - not much more then slapstick and low-brow comedy. Sure, you may get a couple of cheap laughs out of Chris Kattan and Dave Foley, maybe even from Fraser (one of my least favorite actors, actually), but that section of the film is nothing to write home about. However... about half the film takes place in a fantasy world called Downtown, a place where the comatose souls live, waiting to die or to awaken into the real world. Not only is that world designed in the most wonderful sardonic humor of Henry Selick's previous exploits, it's horded with one of the most wonderful casts of animated monsters I've ever seen - one that would make Jim Henson proud. Selick does not once give in to computer generated animation; all of the characters are entirely mechanical. Real life animated figures have a feel to them that computerized characters could never have - the kind of feel the characters on Nightmare have or in Henson classics like Dark Crystal and Storyteller. Each of the monster characters in Monkeybone is an intricately designed, finely crafted living creature with immense personality. The fascinating extras on the DVD include a wonderful gallery of sketches for each of those characters, as well as an inside look on how they were created - there are some original and brilliant technical solutions for some of the characters. John Torturro supplies Monkeybone's hilarious voice in a performance that reminds me slightly of his memorable appearance in Miller's Crossing, and Whoopi Goldberg grants a lovely cameo. If you're reading this, you're one of two - either you're a Brendan Fraser or Chris Kattan fan, in which case you're likely to enjoy the slapstick humor of the real world section of the film, or you've heard about the film or about Henry Selick and are into it for the animation and design. From the point of view of an animator or anyone who is interested in the more classic side of animation, Monkeybone is a fascinating watch. Don't expect it to be another Nightmare Before Christmas, but try to ignore some of the dumb jokes and cheesy humor, and really get a load of the incredible work done on it. They just don't make animation like this anymore. By the way: The Amazon.com editorial review said Fraser plays 'the best-looking cartoonist you'll ever see'. Wrong! You forgot one important precedent - Brad Pitt in Cool World. And the similarities between the two movies don't stop there. The design and styling, though, are entirely different.
Rating:
Summary: I Couldn't Look Away
Review: This movie is strangely compelling. I kept alternating back and forth between loving it and hating it. The actors in here (Brendan Fraser, Rose McGowan, Whoopi Goldberg, Bridget Fonda, and an absolutely hysterical Chris Kattan) are all great, and the special effects are somewhere between Tim Burton and Hieronymus Bosch. At least see it once, if only to say you've seen it.
Rating:
Summary: What happened Monkeybone?
Review: i agree with the guy that said it was a mess, could've been so much more than it turn out to be , the story had promise but lost it's way way to soon . but the effects in the film are eye popping no punt intended, i have to say there nothing like it's one to rent & watch just to say i've seen it & then forget about it. i think the screenplay writer was smokin something that impaired his judgement on what was funny & what should've been left in the sewer. branden fraser & bridget fonda are good actors & work well together in this film , i just felt sorry for them having this cruddy script to work with , but i was impressed with henry slick direction i just felt that it was missing something. better luck next time henry.
Rating:
Summary: A little to odd so no repeat business here.
Review: We rented this one because it looked cute and had brendan fraser. Most of the family watched to the end and seemed to enjoy the movie, but there was NO REQUEST to rewatch it or buy it. It think the kids and my wife thought it was a little to odd and seeing it once was enough. Rent it before buying.
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