Review of Monkeybone (2001) by Scott S — 18 Oct 2009

Monkeybone (2001) -- [4.0] -- Brendan Fraser plays a comatose cartoonist who battles with his own creation, a naughty chimp named Monkeybone, to regain control of his body. "Monkeybone" is a live-action film with stop-motion animated elements from director Henry Selick ('Nightmare Before Christmas', 'Coraline').

The film is absurd enough to be inaccessible, with little to pull you into its story or make you care about its characters. Selick's work is usually stylish enough to give a gander, but "Monkeybone" is all over the place, a nightmarish mish-mash of disparate elements that fail to create a cogent fantasy world.

I have to give kudos to Brendan Fraser for a fearless performance (not his first), even if the manic energy is mispent. With Chris Kattan, Whoopi Goldberg, David Foley, Bridget Fonda, and Rose McGowan.