Monk - Season Six
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Movie Reviews of Monk - Season Six
Movie Review: I just solved the case
Summary: 4 Stars
It must be admitted that the fifth season of "Monk" had some rough patches, where Monk's OCD was overwritten and the plots got a bit limp.
But the obsessive compulsive detective is still going, and fortunately "Monk" is still one of the best shows on television. And the sixth season continues "Monk's" grand tradition -- solidly-written mystifying stories, quirky detecting, and some excellent acting from Tony Shalhoub. Even better, the two-part finale really shows "Monk" off at its absolute best.
As the season opens, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) finds that his obsessed groupie Marcy Maven (Sarah Silverman) needs to hire him, despite a restraining order. So she "buys" him at a bachelor auction and makes him work on a bizarre case -- her dog is being accused of killing someone, but the dog died before the murder took place. Needless to say, there's more than meets the eye.
Among the other cases the OCD detective has to deal with: a framed rapper, murder on a nudist beach, an investigation overlapping with Julie's love life, stolen safety-deposit boxes, treasure maps, a daredevil who might be his archnemesis, insomnia, going undercover in a cult, a newfound painting hobby, and a shot Santa. He even has to investigate Stottlemeyer's (Ted Levine) girlfriend.
But the story takes a darker turn toward the end of the season. Monk finds a lead for the "six-fingered man" who killed Trudy, and confronts him... and after a struggle, the six-fingered man is dead. A rural sheriff arrests Monk, but Monk insists that he's innocent -- and he's determined to find out who is framing him. But with the police after him and a conspiracy in motion, can he solve the murder before he's caught?
"Monk" had a bit of a rough patch in the fifth season -- some of the episodes simply didn't gel, and Monk's OCD was written strangely. Fortunately "Monk - Season Six" goes back to what makes the series more enjoyable -- a couple of episodes don't work, like the rapper and the creepy little cult, but these are overshadowed by the better mysteries.
Nope, most of the sixth season is a string of solid murder mysteries -- lots of baffling crimes, obscure clues, and new eccentricities for Monk. Despite all the murder and bittersweet moments, the episodes are peppered with some comedy as well, such as the slow demolition of Stottlemeyer's brand-new car. And there's still plenty of bittersweet ("I'm going to be buried next to Trudy. I can't wait") and/or hilarious dialogue ("She had the oldest profession." "Stonemason, huh?").
And the last two episodes of the sixth season are among the best the series has ever produced. A seemingly straightforward crime story blossoms into a heartrending, suspenseful, dramatic, and genuinely unpredictable story, and gives us a few more clues about Trudy's death.
Tony Shalhoub is lovably oddballish as Adrian Monk, never turning his tragicomic character into a cartoon -- you just want to hug Monk and give him some perfectly symmetrical cookies. Traylor Howard does a solid job as Monk's assistant, and Levine gets to show Stottlemeyer's warmer, laid-back sides, while Jason Gray-Stanford is consistently fun as the puppy-eager Randy Disher -- even getting to sing a Johnny-Cash-style song about Monk's apparent demise.
The sixth season of "Monk" has a couple rough patches, but soars up to brilliant heights near the end. And the obsessive-compulsive detective still seems to have quite a bit of work ahead...
Movie Review: Fun but Weaker Season
Summary: 4 Stars
Why mess with success? That seems to be the idea behind this season of Monk. And while it wasn't as strong as some of the other seasons have been, it was certain still fun.
The season opens with Sarah Silverman reprising her role as Monk's biggest fan. She hires Monk (Tony Shalhoub) to find out who is framing her dog for murder. The catch? The dog died before the murder took place.
And there is more fun to be had. Monk suspects Captain Stottlemeyer's (Ted Levine) new girlfriend of murder. Natalie's (Traylor Howard) daughter Julie (Emmy Clarke) gets her first boyfriend and learns to drive. Monk takes a job as a security guard at his bank to catch a robber. And he must deal with the consequences of shooting Santa. And he falls under the spell of cult leader Howie Mandel.
When I reviewed season five, I did mention that they were occasionally crossing the line from character to caricature. That seemed to be more of a problem here in my eyes. In fact, there were several in a row near the beginning that seemed to be forced for laughs. The episodes dealing with the nude beach and the rapper were painful instead of funny. And some of the others had a been there, done that feel to them.
On the other hand, there are still so many good moments. This is especially true of the two part season finale which advances the Trudy storyline when Monk is accused of murdering the six fingered man.
And I can't fault the acting. All four leads (including Jason Gray-Stanford and Lt. Disher) continue to do great jobs bringing their characters to life. I was disappointed that we only got to see Julie a couple times. And it is sad watching this knowing that we won't get to see the late Stanley Kamel any more as the excellent Dr. Kroger.
Monk may be showing its age. But it is still fun and entertaining. Fans will welcome the newest season into their homes.
Movie Review: Great show. OK DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
First, let me prefise this by saying I still enjoy the show a bunch but the DVD is lacking.
"Monk" one of the few series I try to watch every week and if I can't, will DVR it. While each episode still follows the same formula from seasons 1-5 (murder happens, Monk solves it), for the most part each case is still quite interesting and the 2-part season finale was great (I certainly hope they keep pushing the Trudy case forward, however).
The DVD, on the other hand, isn't as good and deserved better (maybe it was limited due to the writer's strike). According to the individual slim cases, there are "Video Commentaries" on certain episodes. When I first read that I thought it was an awesome idea, not entirely original but I you don't see that very often. But boy when I played them, I was severely disappointed. These are not video commentaries in the traditional sense. Instead what we got were interviews with the writers on 7 episodes. What they had to say was fine, but I felt it was a bit misleading to call them video commentaries.
The only other feature is one commentary track on "Mr. Monk Stays Up All Night" with Tony Shalhoub, Ted Levine, Jason Gray-Stanford and Director/Exec Producer Randall Zisk. It's a fine track with too many dead spots, however.
The sixth season of "Monk" still features some good episodes and fun cases and, despite the lack of features, is well worth buying! I will definitely be tuning in for season seven (wow, how time flies).
Movie Review: Starts badly, gets better
Summary: 4 Stars
3 1/2 stars
Because I don't have cable I have watched all seasons of the show on DVD this last year. I can say then that I have a pretty good sense for whether one season or another is good and that I'm not at all nostalgic for any particular season, or any particular partner Monk has had. My fairly clear-headed assessment of the new season is this: This sixth season unfortunately opens with two of the all-time weakest episodes I have seen from Monk. Thankfully the set of discs recovers by episodes three and four.
The problem with the first two episodes in the sixth season is that they feature surprise guest-stars at the expense of the usual interaction between Monk and his assistant.
In the first episode, guest-star Sarah Silverman returns as Monk's obsessed fan -- but gets much less mileage out of the part than when she first appeared as the obsessed fan in an earlier season of the show. The second episode in the sixth season of the show features guest-star Snoop Dog, who sleepwalks through his part (This episode also substitutes Monk's great theme song with a mediocre rap version of the song).
I enjoy Monk and the only times he loses me in the sixth season is when the show's writers try to substitute the enjoyable interactions between Monk and the other regular characters with "big-name" guest stars that don't really fit the proceedings.
Movie Review: Sixth season of Monk is hilarious
Summary: 4 Stars
Monk - Season Six As a rather new recruit to Monk...my sister had been trying to get me to watch the show for years, but I was just to busy. A recent illness gave me the time. And after the first few episodes I was just hooked. I ordered all of the episodes from every season...so now I can watch them in order......and the 6th season is the best season so far. The Actors all seem to have fleshed out their characters to the point that "I" as the audience tend to forget I am watching a crew of actors carrying out a very complicated and enormously intricate script. This is probably the best acted and written show on television today.