"'Bone' Headed"
by Scott Mantz

"Monkeybone"
Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda
Directed by Henry Selick

Show me the monkey! Brendan Fraser loses his grip in "Monkeybone"

Geez, what is it with Brendan Fraser these days? While it's good to see him working so much, he's gotten to a point in his career where he should be pickier about the types of films he chooses. For every success that he's had on the level of "George of the Jungle" and "The Mummy", he's had turkeys on the level of "Dudley Do-Right" and "Bedazzled." Now you can add another monkey to the bone, and this one is entitled, appropriately enough, "Monkeybone." Despite being a twisted, hyperactive, and downright quirky roller-coaster ride with an impressive blend of live action and stop-motion animation, this loony tune wears out its welcome faster than you can say "That's all folks!"

For Stu Miley (Brendan Fraser), life is anything but a merry melody. Despite having an incredibly beautiful girlfriend (Bridget Fonda), and despite having created a wildly popular cartoon character named Monkeybone (voiced by John Turturro), he's burdened with too many psychological issues to enjoy his success. When a freak car accident puts him into a coma, his soul is sent to purgatory where he comes face-to-face with his own creation. Stu makes a deal with Death (Whoopi Goldberg) to go back to the land of the living, but at the last minute, Monkeybone takes his place instead. It's a race against time as Stu struggles to switch places with Monkeybone before he destroys his life forever.

Considering that Henry Selick is best known for his innovative, timeless, and majestic direction of both "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach," his live-action feature debut can't be seen as anything other than a disappointment. There's certainly a lot going on in "Monkeybone" (which is actually part of the problem, but more on that later), and Selick borrows as much from his own films as he does from Robert Zemeckis' "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice." It's just too bad that the more adult touches are left in the background while the rest of the film ends up being rude, crude, and obnoxious.

Like last years underrated (and unsuccessful) "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle," "Monkeybone" tries to be all things to all people and begs the question, just who is this film for? Adults will hardly be amused by the film's juvenile humor, and kids are more likely to be disturbed by its demented imagery. In fact, some scenes may be to gruesome for kids too watch at all. (One particular sequence has a man pulling appendages from a dead body, which instantly brings to mind that rather heart-tugging scene from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom").

Getting back to Brendan Fraser, there's no doubt that he's having fun with his role. The fact that he can go from brooding and sulking one moment to wild and wacky the next is further proof of his range. After a long break from commercial fare, Bridget Fonda returns to the big screen as the object of Fraser's (and Monkeybone's) desire, but other than playing the sympathetic girlfriend, she doesn't have much to do. The real loony tune to watch out for is "Saturday Night Live's" Chris Kattan , who plays a dead gymnast possessed by Fraser's character. Since his character has a broken neck, he demonstrates a remarkable flair for physical comedy and has some of the best scenes in the movie.

"Monkeybone" will hardly stand alongside Selick's other films, but in the end, it is filled with enough outrageous comedy and breathtaking scenery to qualify for cult status. It's hard not to be impressed by the Tim Burton-esque sets and trippy costumes, and despite being just a little too disturbing for the kids, there are some adult elements that hint at what the film could have been. Then again, what did you expect with a name like "Monkeybone?"

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