Pretty Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A young and charming Thora Birch stars as the unexpected owner of a monkey who picks pockets for a Gypsy who has lost him. Birch's parents won't let her have a dog because of Dad's allergies. The monkey, which Birch keeps hidden in her bedroom, makes Dad sneeze a lot and then wonder why, which is typical of what passes for humor in this predictable kiddie flick. Mom and Dad are played by Mimi Rogers and Chris McDonald as if they were doing a Dennis the Menace movie. Meanwhile, the Gypsy, played by Harvey Keitel, is hot on the trail of his missing monkey. I'm not sure why Keitel did this film, other than to be able to say he made a movie little children could watch. It is a role more suited to, say, Joe Piscopo. Anyhow, the monkey is annoying as hell. Not recommended for anyone over 12.

I remember this film as being a just-OK kids film but on watching it for a second or third time I realized that it's a darn good movie. Avoids all the problems of "Alaska" (another movie Thora Birch starred in) like lame lines and not-so-good acting. The acting in this movie was very believable and the lines were well-written. SPOILERS I actually thought that the weakest part of the movie was Harvey Keitel's character, just seemed out of place or slightly annoying or something. The Mafia sequence probably could have been avoided as I felt it didn't add much to the movie. That time could have been better spent exploring Thora's character's life or something. I would say this is a top film for its genre.

Thora Birch plays Eva Boylan, a young girl who befriends a a sweet monkey, who she names 'Dodger'. 'Dodger's mean owner, Kohn played by the brilliant Harvey Keitel wants him back though as he uses 'Dodger' to help steal from people and he will do anything to get him back. A young Thora Birch gives a great performance here, as does the brilliant Harvey Keitel. Mimi Rogers is also good as mum Amy. Monkey Trouble is such a cute and a very entertaining family movie with some really great performances from everyone. Monkey Trouble is one for the kids and the grown-ups. See it!

"Monkey Trouble" tells of an organ grinder's (Keitel) pickpocket monkey who abandons his boss and adopts a young girl (Birch) leading to much monkey business. All of the human actors in this corny flick are upstaged by the monkey star whose antics make this predictable family comedy worth watching. Nuff said.