Brendan Fraser is Stu Miley, a sweet, shy, down-to-earth guy who overcame some really serious nightmares by translating them into a comic strip. The "star" of the strip is a rude, crude libidinous ape called Monkeybone, and he's a hit. Indeed, he's about to go into animation--and associated merchandising, which Stu could really live without. All he wants to do is propose to his best girl, Dr. Julie McElroy (Bridget Fonda) and live happily ever after.
Alas! Stu becomes the victim of that very merchandising when a huge inflatable Monkeybone in the back of his car causes a crash that sends him into a coma. He travels--in spirit or whatever--to a grim madhouse of a place called Downtown, where he discovers Monkeybone and a host of bizarros. When he learns about an exit pass that could get him back to his real world, he braves Death (Whoopi Goldberg) to steal one, only to have Monkeybone steal it--and his body. From then on it's a race to see which will succeed--Stu in his effort to return at least long enough to tell Julie he loves her or Monkeybone's plot to blitz everyone with "nightmare dust" and turn the entire world into Downtown.
Based on Kaja Blackley's graphic novel Dark Town and adapted for the big screen by Sam Hamm (Batman), Monkeybone isn't the kind of movie that's going to bring in the crowds. It's not mindless enough for the Dumb and Dumber group--it doesn't preach but it does throw a sharp light on issues that deserve it. On the other hand, those who like their comedy with a bit more good taste should stick to Sleepless in Seattle.
So who'll like it? Anybody who has ever watched Chaplin in The Gold Rush and giggled themselves silly. Is Brendan Fraser the next Chaplin? No, but he can definitely give Harold Lloyd a run for his banana peel. Given the mania that he's dunked in, he gives a first-class performance, alternating between Stu and Stu-cum-Monkeybone with seemingly effortless energy. As Julie, Fonda has the good sense to lie low and let her reactions speak the loudest--if she had opted to go overboard it would have simply been too much.
The most hilarious showing, however, come from Chris Kattan as an organ donor animated by Stu's spirit. To say more would just take away some of the fun--but this movie is worth watching for those fifteen minutes or so alone.
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