Inside Monkey Zetterland

Last updated
Inside Monkey Zetterland
Monkeyzetterland.jpg
Directed by Jefery Levy
Written by Steve Antin
John Boskovich
Produced bySteve Antin
Tani Cohen
Chuck Grieve
Greta Von Steinbauer
StarringSteve Antin
Patricia Arquette
Sandra Bernhard
Sofia Coppola
Tate Donovan
Rupert Everett
Katherine Helmond
Bo Hopkins
Ricki Lake
Debi Mazar
Martha Plimpton
CinematographyChristopher Taylor
Edited byLauren Zuckerman
Music byRick Cox
Jeff Elmassian
Production
company
Coast Entertainment
Distributed by IRS Media
Release dates
  • August 25, 1993 (1993-08-25)(United States)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$121,475 [1]

Inside Monkey Zetterland is a 1992 independent comedy film directed by Jefery Levy and written by Steve Antin. The film follows Monkey Zetterland, a former child actor turned aspiring screenwriter and the goings-on with his eccentric family and friends. The story uses voiceover narration and is interspersed with fantasy sequences.

Contents

Plot

Monkey Zetterland is a struggling screenwriter and a former child actor who is working on a historical script based on the defunct Red Car subway of Los Angeles. He lives in a building owned by his neurotic mother Honor Zetterland, who is a famous soap opera star. While secretly hoping there is a future in acting for Monkey, she attempts to turn her other son, hairdresser Brent, into a film star.

Honor shows up at Monkey's apartment to borrow his epsom salts at the same time that his disagreeable girlfriend, Daphne, arrives. His sister Grace arrives in tears to reveal that her lesbian girlfriend, Cindy, has become pregnant from a one-night stand in an attempt to bring the two of them closer. Honor rents the basement apartment to Sasha and Sofie, a gay man and lesbian posing as husband and wife while publishing an underground newsletter that outs closeted gay people in the entertainment industry.

As if this were not enough, a creepy woman, Bella, shows up with a fan letter for Honor, and another strange lady, Imogene, begins openly pursuing Monkey's attention. After a series of confrontations with Monkey, Daphne moves out. At around the same time, his estranged father Mike, who was absent for long periods of time throughout the Zetterlands’ lives, surfaces in time for Thanksgiving.

While everyone busies themselves with their personal issues, Grace discovers that Sasha and Sofie are in fact terrorists who intend to bomb a local insurance agency that is denying medical coverage to people with HIV and AIDS. Sofie comes up with a plan to send Grace into the agency with a bomb, which Grace and Sasha believe is set up to give Grace enough time to escape before it detonates. It is not, and Grace dies in the explosion.

This event pulls everyone out of their own selfish interests and forces them to reexamine their lives and the people around them. The patriarch of the family disappears again, Cindy and her newborn baby are taken in by the family, and Monkey decides to let Imogene get closer to him. Then, just as things are starting to fall into place, Monkey comes home to find his apartment ransacked and his finally finished script, of which was his only copy, stolen.

Later that evening, Bella, who left a fan letter for Honor, arrives with Monkey's stolen script and a gun. She tries to shoot Honor, but hits the family dog instead. She is taken down, but the ensuing drama pulls the remaining emotional conflicts of the family into place. Honor accepts that Monkey is never going to become a famous actor. Instead of pushing him into acting, she uses her industry connections to have his script produced into a film starring Brent.

Cast

Production

The inspiration from the script came from Steve Antin’s own background, as he himself started out as a child actor before getting into writing. [2] The script originated as a book of short stories titled Campfire Stories. [3] While Antin was filming the 1988 movie The Accused , Jodie Foster asked to read some of Antin's stories, after which she suggested he turn the stories into a film script. [3]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 1992 Seattle International Film Festival on June 5, 1992. [4] It went on to screen at the Toronto Festival of Festivals on September 12, 1992, [5] and was given a limited release in the United States on August 25, 1993.

Home media

It was released in 1994 on VHS and in 1995 on Laserdisc. The film was released on DVD on February 6, 2007. [6]

Critical reception

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Inside Monkey Zetterland has an approval rating of 71% based on 7 reviews. [7]

Emanuel Levy of Variety said the film "is funny, sharp-tongued and devious, but never wicked or nasty. Its resonant comedy is so attuned to the Zeitgeist that any urban dweller will find something relevant in it." [8] Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle gave it three stars, writing, "These actors all create riveting snapshots of oddballs in action," but also noting the film has a "rambling storyline". [9]

Negative reviews criticized the story and characterization. Desson Howe of The Washington Post wrote, "After the characters have taken up most of the movie airing their idiosyncrasies, they undergo melodramatic fates that reveal little more than Antin's recession of an imagination." [10] TV Guide gave a mixed review, praising the film for "inescapably [capturing] the LA attitude", but noting "it has no real center, a point underlined by frequent scenes in which characters drift not only out of the frame, but into different rooms." [11] The review commented that Levy "never gives a clue how he relates to his characters or story, which isn't much help to the viewer", but observed Coppola is given a chance to redeem herself after her much maligned performance in The Godfather Part III . [11] Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the ensemble cast and said the film "flaunts a number of audacious cinematic tricks", but disliked the film's "mood of manic chaos". [12]

Accolades

Tate Donovan was nominated for Best Supporting Male at the 1994 Independent Spirit Awards. [13] The film was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Feature at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Frasier</i> American television sitcom (1993–2004)

Frasier is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee, in association with Grammnet (2004) and Paramount Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Antin</span> American actor

Steven Antin is an American actor, stunt performer, screenwriter, producer, and director.

2004 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts. Shrek 2 was the year's top-grossing film, and Million Dollar Baby won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debra Messing</span> American actress (born 1968)

Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the television series, Ned and Stacey on Fox (1995–1997), and Prey on ABC (1998). She achieved her breakthrough role as Grace Adler, an interior designer, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which she received seven Golden Globe Award nominations and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, winning once, in 2003.

<i>The Player</i> (1992 film) 1992 film by Robert Altman

The Player is a 1992 American satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Michael Tolkin, based on his 1988 novel. The film stars Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James and Cynthia Stevenson, and is the story of a Hollywood film studio executive who kills an aspiring screenwriter he believes is sending him death threats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric McCormack</span> Canadian actor (born 1963)

Eric James McCormack is a Canadian and American actor known for his roles as Will Truman in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, Grant MacLaren in Netflix's Travelers, and Dr. Daniel Pierce in the TNT crime drama Perception. Born in Toronto, McCormack started acting by performing in high school plays. He left Ryerson University in 1985 to accept a position with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where he spent five years performing in many stage productions.

<i>Maria Full of Grace</i> 2004 film by Joshua Marston

Maria Full of Grace is a 2004 Spanish-language drama film written and directed by Joshua Marston. The film was a US-Colombia co-production. The story follows a Colombian girl who becomes a drug mule for a trafficking ring. Lead actress Catalina Sandino Moreno won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 77th Academy Awards.

<i>Curious George</i> (film) 2006 animated film directed by Matthew OCallaghan

Curious George is a 2006 animated adventure film based on the book series written by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey. It was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, written by Ken Kaufman and produced by Ron Howard, David Kirschner, and Jon Shapiro. Featuring the voices of Frank Welker, Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, and Dick Van Dyke, it tells the story of how the Man with the Yellow Hat, a tour guide at a museum, first befriended a curious monkey named George and started going on adventures with him around the city while attempting to save the museum from closure.

Robert Leslie Shapiro is an American attorney and entrepreneur. He is best known for being the short-term defense lawyer of Erik Menéndez in 1990, and a member of the "Dream Team" of O. J. Simpson's attorneys that successfully defended him from the charges that he murdered his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman, in 1994. He later turned to civil work and co-founded ShoeDazzle, LegalZoom, and RightCounsel.com, appearing in their television commercials.

<i>Untamed Heart</i> 1993 film

Untamed Heart is a 1993 American romantic drama film directed by Tony Bill, written by Tom Sierchio, and starring Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei. It tells the story of an unlikely romance between a young woman unlucky in love and a shy young man who has a heart defect. The original music score was composed by Cliff Eidelman, and includes a classical arrangement of "Nature Boy". A remix of the 1987 Suzanne Vega song "Tom's Diner" is featured in the opening scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Kelly (actor)</span> American actor

John Augustus Kelly Jr. was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of Bart Maverick in the television series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962.

<i>A Simple Plan</i> (film) 1998 American film

A Simple Plan is a 1998 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith, based on Smith's 1993 novel of the same name. The film stars Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda. Set in rural Minnesota, the story follows brothers Hank (Paxton) and Jacob Mitchell (Thornton), who, along with Jacob's friend Lou, discover a crashed plane containing $4.4 million in cash. The three men and Hank's wife Sarah (Fonda) go to great lengths to keep the money a secret but begin to doubt each other's trust, resulting in lies, deceit and murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diablo Cody</span> American writer and producer

Brook Maurio, known professionally as by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper (2005). Cody received critical acclaim for her screenwriting debut film, Juno (2007), winning both the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Tani L. Cohen is an American film producer.

<i>Moment to Moment</i> 1966 film by Mervyn LeRoy

Moment to Moment is a 1966 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Jean Seberg, Honor Blackman and Sean Garrison.

<i>Girl Most Likely</i> 2012 comedy film

Girl Most Likely is a 2012 American comedy film directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. Based on a screenplay by Michelle Morgan, the film stars Kristen Wiig as a playwright who stages a suicide in an attempt to win back her ex, only to wind up in the custody of her gambling-addict mother, played by Annette Bening. Matt Dillon, Christopher Fitzgerald, Natasha Lyonne, and Darren Criss co-star.

<i>Crown Heights</i> (film) 2017 American film

Crown Heights is a 2017 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Matt Ruskin. Adapted from a This American Life podcast, the film tells the true story of Colin Warner who was wrongfully convicted of murder, and how his best friend Carl King devoted his life to proving Colin's innocence. The film stars Lakeith Stanfield as Colin Warner and Nnamdi Asomugha as Carl King.

<i>The Miseducation of Cameron Post</i> (film) 2018 film by Desiree Akhavan

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a 2018 coming-of-age drama film directed by Desiree Akhavan and written by Akhavan and Cecilia Frugiuele, based on the 2012 novel by Emily M. Danforth. It stars Chloë Grace Moretz, John Gallagher Jr., Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, Marin Ireland, Owen Campbell, Kerry Butler, Quinn Shephard, Emily Skeggs, Melanie Ehrlich, and Jennifer Ehle. Moretz plays a teenager sent to a gay conversion therapy centre. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2018. It was released in the United States on August 3, 2018, by FilmRise, and United Kingdom on September 7, 2018, by Vertigo Releasing. It received positive reviews and has grossed $2 million globally.

Grace Glowicki is a Canadian actress and filmmaker from Edmonton, Alberta.

References

  1. ↑ "Inside Monkey Zetterland". JP Box Office. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ Karpel, Ari (November 19, 2010). "The Diva Whisperer". The Advocate . Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Yamato, Jen (November 23, 2010). "Steven Antin On Burlesque, Wooing Cher, and Discovering Ian Somerhalder". Movieline . Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Seattle International Film Festival". The Seattle Times . May 7, 1992. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ Levine, Rosie (September 17, 1992). "Toronto Talk Film Fest Glitter". NOW. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Inside Monkey Zetterland - Releases". AllMovie . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Inside Monkey Zetterland". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Levy, Emanuel (July 23, 1992). "Inside Monkey Zetterland". Variety . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ Baumgarten, Marjorie (November 19, 1993). "Inside Monkey Zetterland". The Austin Chronicle .
  10. ↑ Howe, Desson (December 3, 1993). "'Inside Monkey Zetterland'". The Washington Post .
  11. 1 2 "Inside Monkey Zetterland". TV Guide . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Holden, Stephen (1993-10-15). "Reviews/Film; Cut to: A Screenwriter, Very Harried. Present Day". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  13. ↑ "36 Years of Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Film Independent . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (November 30, 1992). "Lineup taking shape for Sundance film fest". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.