Normally, I don’t care for most reboots, but I really loved Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie (2023), a welcome return of one the medium’s all-time great characters, Adrian Monk, the challenging but ultimately lovable, obsessive-compulsive detective, brilliantly played by Emmy-winning great Tony Shalhoub. But this one has a definite sadness to it, which makes it all the more endearing and gives Monk a world-building resonance.
Buy Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie Blu-rayAfter more than a decade (and the pandemic) our favorite germophobic sleuth is back to solve a very personal case, one involving his now grown stepdaughter Molly (Caitlin McGee) after her fiancé dies in a freak bungee-jumping “accident”. Reuniting with Natalie (Traylor Howard), Randy (Jason Gray-Stanford), and Leland (Ted Levine), Monk stops at nothing to find out what happened to Molly’s fiancé and why, while still coming to terms with life without Trudy (Melora Hardin), with his OCD, and with a new world that he really isn’t used to.
Yes, the case involving Molly and a treacherous billionaire (James Purefoy) is riveting, but what gives the film its oomph is Monk’s understanding of his own neurosis, with the help of his psychiatrist Dr. Neven Bell (a wonderful Hector Elizondo), and his sudden brush with suicidal tendencies, meaning that since the world seems to have moved on, he thinks that people have moved on without him as well. But he eventually realizes that he still has unfinished business: to help the police solve cases and give people closure for loved ones involved.
I think Mr. Monk’s Last Case has a solid mix of humor and seriousness, something that is definitely missing from other reboots. Watching it feels bittersweet; it’s like you’re watching the original series all over again, which is something that many fans (such as myself) have been wanting ever since it ended in 2009.
Thanks to Kino Lorber, we can enjoy this film many times over (which looks amazing in letterbox) just like with the original series (where all eight seasons are available now). The entire saga reminds us that we all have an Adrian Monk in us, whether we think so or not, which makes him relatable and a part of our lives forever.
Special feature: Internet/TV spot
