Project: Critical Viewing of British
Films in a Variety of Cultural
Contexts.
STUDY GUIDE FOR
‘THE FULL MONTY’ (1997)
Directed by Peter Cattaneo
THE AIM OF THIS STUDY GUIDE
First of all, we hope you will enjoy the film. We
also imagine you will get some useful listening
practice and maybe learn some useful English
expressions. But perhaps the most important
thing is that you should notice the issues this film
is dealing with, reflect on how they affect British
society, and then consider whether there are
parallels in your own society, and be prepared to
discuss these matters either face-to-face with
your classmates or with students elsewhere via a
discussion group that we have set up for the
purpose.
CONTENTS OF THE STUDY
GUIDE
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LIST OF MAIN CHARACTERS
SUMMARY OF THE PLOT
PRE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
WHILE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
FOLLOW-UP IDEAS
THE MAIN CHARACTERS
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Gaz – Robert Carlyle
Dave – Mark Addy
Gerald – Tom Wilkinson
Lomper – Steve Huison
Horse – Paul Barber
Guy – Hugo Speer
Nathan – William Snape
SUMMARY OF THE PLOT
The film is set in the northern English city of Sheffield,
once prosperous, now no longer so, among a group of
unemployed ex-steelworkers whose lives have been
ruined by the loss of their jobs and the identity this gave
them. The hero, Gaz, is divorced and faces the prospect of
losing all contact with his son, Nathan, unless he can raise
the money he owes his ex-wife. With his friend Dave he
happens to see a poster for the famous male striptease
group, the Chippendales, and they are inspired to follow
their example in order to get some money. They put
together a group of men and start practising. The film
follows their struggles as they try to make their dream of
success come true and ends with them performing in front
of a packed house at the Working Men’s Club where they
first got their inspiration.
PRE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES (1)
According to the DVD cover, the film is an
“enchantingly funny…crowd-pleasing comedy”,
and, on one level, it is just that. However, as the
screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy, said in an interview,
“the film is a comedy but has a serious message
about the state of unemployed men in Britain”.
Before you watch the film, think about the
questions on the next slide or discuss them with
others who are going to watch the film with you.
PRE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES (2)
• What do you think causes unemployment?
• What do you know about traditional industries
in Britain?
• What do you know about unemployment in
your country or region?
• What negative effects do you think long-term
unemployment has on those who experience
it?
PRE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES (3)
A reviewer in the online movie guide
crazy4cinema wrote that “As a female movie-goer
I will pretty much go to see any movie that
promises a little male nakedness. It doesn't
happen very often and I feel as women we need
to support those films that go the extra mile just to
please us. Then maybe, just maybe, male nudity
will be as commonplace as female and we'll get a
little equality in the film world. It’s just a dream,
but here’s hoping.” There are some more thinking
and discussion questions on the next slide.
PRE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES (4)
• To what extent do you agree with the
reviewer?
• What’s your opinion of nudity in films?
• What’s your opinion of jobs such as being a
stripper?
• Do you think there are certain jobs that are
more appropriate for one sex than the other?
Which? Why?
WHILE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
(1)
We don’t have any specific tasks of the traditional
type (e.g. gap-filling or answering comprehension
questions) for you to do while watching the film.
We would prefer you just to watch it and keep
your eyes and ears open for what you find
interesting and to make notes to help you
recollect things later. However, you might find the
topics mentioned on the next slide helpful in
focusing your attention.
WHILE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
(2)
• What does the physical environment of Sheffield look
like?
• How do the characters spend their days?
• What sort of relationship do the six men have with
each other?
• What sort of relationship do they have with other
people?
• What do you notice about their English?
• What do you think of the music?
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITIES (1)
We hope you enjoyed the film and have plenty of food for
thought. In addition to your own observations and
reactions, you might find the following questions helpful in
shaping your discussions.
Which of the characters did you like most/least? Why?
Was there anything you noticed that you particularly liked
or disliked?
Which parts of the film did you find funny?
In what ways did you find the film ‘typically British’?
Was there anything you found particularly alien or
strange?
Could something similar happen in your own society?
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITIES (2)
If you haven’t already done so, go to
http://groups.yahoo.com and register. Then join the
group named ‘film-viewing’ and send a message.
You will then be able to participate in online
discussion of the film with others who have seen it.
FOLLOW-UP IDEAS
You can find out more at the following websites:
about the film - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119164/
about Sheffield - www.sheffield-fm.co.uk/
about the social and economic background to the film http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/apr1998/shef-a8.shtml
about the origin of the term ‘the Full Monty’ http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/monty.htm
about relationships within broken families in the UK http://www.fathers-4-justice.org
about the Chippendales –
http://www.chippendales.com/