Surprisingly incoherent and boring

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

¨A vicious serial sex killer is on the loose…a monster¨ This slapstick comedy relies heavily on one of Italy's best actors, Roberto Benigni. He won an Oscar for his comedic performance in Life is Beautiful, and we all know how difficult it is for an actor to win an Oscar in a comedy (it has only been done six times in its more than 80 years). But before there was Life is Beautiful, Benigni was already beginning to rise to fame with his film Il Mostro (The Monster). I was not impressed for the first 20 minutes or so because I found his performance over the top and a bit exaggerated. Benigni relies heavily on his physical comedy and many have compared him to the geniuses of Charles Chaplin or even Buster Keaton. I thought Benigni's performance was a bit too much, but as the film progressed I found the clever situations and dialogues pretty funny. He did a better job writing this film than he did acting as the laughs begin once we see how each one of his awkward situations are misinterpreted by the police. Even the great Federico Fellini has recognized the great talent of this man so it wouldn't be wise to ignore this man's work (except for Pinocchio, we can all skip that one). Benigni not only wrote and performed in this film; he also directed and produced it as well, but the true star of the movie is Nicoletta Braschi, his wife, who has worked alongside him in all his movies. This is a very funny comedy; it just takes a while to pick up because of all the silliness in the beginning.Il Mostro begins with a news report about a serial killer on the loose who has now killed 18 females over the years and police have no prime suspect, until an innocent man named Loris (Roberto Benigni) has the misfortune of hitting on the wrong woman. Loris is working as a landscape gardener during a party and after a mix up he hits on the wrong person and later even more unfortunate incidents involving a chainsaw convert him in the prime suspect. The police decide to follow this man around in order to find the evidence they need to capture him and Loris continues to get caught in unfortunate situations which only solidify the suspicions of the police force. An undercover policewoman named Jessica Rossetti (Nicoletta Braschi) is assigned the task to get close to Loris and try to seduce him in order for his murderous instinct to take place. Jessica does all she can in her power to seduce this innocent man and works along police psychologist Paride Taccone (Michel Blanc) who is very intrigued by his subject and confident this man is the monster. Several funny scenes take place, all involving this police mix up and catching Loris in rather unfortunate situations.The highlight of the film is probably the scene in which Loris and Jessica invite Paride and his wife for dinner and the psychologist analyzes him with the excuse that he is measuring him for a suit he is tailoring, all the while his wife suffering from nerves of having to be in the same room with the monster. I think that the movie is worth a rent because it has some very funny moments although the first half hour is pretty slow and dull. Braschi does a great job and plays a totally different role from the one in Life is Beautiful. She is more of an extrovert in this movie because she has to try to seduce Loris. The psychologist is also pretty funny and his stereotypical performance garnered several laughs in this film. Overall the slapstick comedy works and will have you smiling. The awkward situations that Loris gets in are a bit exaggerated, but the mix up is rather funny. The characters are one-dimensional, but that is the point in these slapstick comedies as they tend to be very stereotypical. This is a funny movie although it is not a masterpiece like Life is Beautiful was.

Il Mostro by the Italian master, Roberto Benigni, is his funniest among some very funny movies. The earlier comment to watch it in Italian with subtitles is essential. Some of the humour, both spoken and physical slapstick is a little hard at first for North Americans. Once you fall into the Italian sense of humour it will have you on the floor, Roberto Benigni is the twenty first century's Charlie Chaplin. It is optimum for enjoyment if you have lived in Italy, but not required. Go to Italy afterwards! Like Felleni and the Bertolucci brothers, Benigni reflects a lot of what is intrinsically Italian.Il Mostro is about a mix up, but what comedy is not, it is really about Roberto, the words, the way the words are said, the body gestures and his mastery of playing. You can fall in love with his visual poetry... then learn Italian. I also recommend the unsung, underrated, Son of Pink Panther, it gives a new twist to the Sellers' humour. It's all that Sellers was and more, this is the true successor to the Pink Panther series! If you like the style of Il Mostro then try the earlier Johnny Stecchino, it is classic Benigni as well!

After seeing the trailer for this film, in France and in French, I thought that it should be given a wide berth. But I watched it with a friend one night and still laugh about it 10 years later. It was brilliant. Absolute pure genius. While the scenes looked ridiculous in the trailer, they were very funny in the context of the film. The story is simple, innocent bumbler is mistaken for a serial killer, but the talent of Benigni, both in his writing and his acting, makes the error plausible and for a great film. The scene on the scaffolding is one of my all time favorite comedy moments and the several unexpected meetings with a neighbour, whilst Benigni is walking along on his haunches (trying to avoid his caretaker as he is behind in his rent)are both funny and very touching, especially when Nicoletta Braschi comes on the scene. Just watch it and enjoy. But only if it's in it's original version, Italian. Otherwise don't!

What Einstein did for the world of science Benigni has done for the world of cinema.Since being captivated and devastated (in a brilliantly sad way) by "La Vita e Bella", I've been eager to seek out other Benigni films. I was thrilled to find "Johnny Stecchino" and "Il Mostro" on the shelves of my local video store.Both are works of comedic genius! While Benigni employs very similar formulas and plot devices (mistaken identity, physical humour and petty theft) the plots are vastly different but both equally hilarious. "Il Mostro", as well as "Johnny Stecchino" will have you laughing within a minute of pressing play on your VCR. Rent these both for a night of back to back gut-busting fun!