Powerful

Good start, but then it gets ruined

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

One of the best films of 2001, highly recommended for Brendan Fraser heads. He really shows off his versatility in this movie, acting as more then one character (a monkey even !) This movie was funny but parts of it were also a bit creepy at time. Whoopie Goldberg was really funny in this one, her sassy attitude was funny. I also enjoyed when they were in Monkeybone world it reminded me of nightmare before Christmas. However if your watching this with your younger kids than i might recommend screening it first so you can hide the scary parts :)older kids can watch monkeybone no problemFavorite quote: 'The woman I love is living with a horny little monkey that looks like me!'

Even if you watch this flick in hope of a creative visual style alone, it's one ugly film. The color scheme of both reality and fantasy worlds in the film is full of bright, obnoxious, oversaturated colors. (The film even teases viewers with a minute or two of merciful black-and- white scenes.) You could count the legitimately creative character/background designs on one hand; most of the "surreal" scenes in the movie revolve around shuffling actors in lame, embarrassing costumes. This complements the complete lack of subtlety in the film's concepts and humor in general; the film relies heavily on its "jokes" but none of them provoked even the tiniest smirk in my audience. Apparently the filmmakers decided they needed to hit their viewers over the head with even the most elementary-school-level butt jokes.The stop-motion animation is competent, but the direction of the human actors is constantly stilted and flat. I guess it's intended to be "cartoonish" but instead it comes across as amateurish and pandering, as if Selick and co. assumed audiences wouldn't recognize comedy unless everyone in the movie acted like spastic, one-dimensional clowns. There is no attempt to make any character relatable or likable; even the "mild-mannered nice guy" protagonist is a wormy, self-pitying loser from the get-go.Lastly, the film is painfully sexist as well, with constant portrayal of woman as sex objects in a pathetic effort to add some adult appeal. Again, the film can't attract viewers with anything clever, original or meaningful but instead uses the most pandering and insulting methods possible. Only watch this mess if you're terribly easily-amused or possibly if you haven't aged 15 yet.

I'm a 61-year-old movie buff. I've seen countless thousands of films and this is without a doubt the worst film I've ever seen. While Ed Wood's movies have been so described, they are actually naively inept but charmingly klutzy and quite entertaining. That's why they're still popular after 50 years. "Monkeybone", on the other hand, has a huge crew of talented actors, director and other contributors, some of them Oscar winners and multiple nominees, who've produced many classic films. It obviously also had a large production budget. Yet all of these talented people have combined to create a film that is incoherent, repulsive and painful to watch. So bad it's unbelievable. Awesomely bad. It would be torture to see it again. Perhaps "Monkeybone" explains the retirement of the beautiful and talented Bridget Fonda. Who could blame her?

I am sorry that so few people seem to get this movie. As for my wife and me, this movie just made us laugh out loud and marvel at its creativity. (Now to make full disclosure, perhaps this is at least in part because we have both degrees in Psychology (in fact, my wife has a PhD in psychology). The comments of jhclues of Salem make me think that he's stuck in his own nightmare and simply fails to see the fabulous insight the writers, cast and crew bring to this, in my opinion, very funny picture.Brendan Fraser, to my mind, is really an amazing and very under appreciated actor who has a remarkable gift for physical acting and comedy. This film abundantly displays his talents but I realize many people don't see them. I certainly respect Mr. Clues of Salem for his recognition of Mr. Fraser's courage and appreciation for the challenges he has encountered as an actor. (I imagine that Brendan Fraser has endured far more than his share of pain and hazard in movie making.) But as for Monkeybone, I believe this movie is easily the equal of some of the best work of the great Tim Burton. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Mr. Burton himself, didn't cherish this little sleeper.I certainly recognize that this picture may not be for everybody, but it definitely is a very funny one for some and I could not let the negative views of some reviewers be the only word on the subject for the readers of IMDb. Give it a try and I suspect that, in the words of Adrian Monk, "You'll thank me later."