Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera) is desperately trying to hold her life together after her boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan) dumps her while she’s receiving treatment for cancer. Miserable and wallowing at home, Laura turns to her old imaginary friend Monster (Tommy Dewey) who lives in her closet. As Monster helps Laura regain her confidence, he encourages her to audition for the musical that Jacob is staging and that she was supposed to play the lead in. Cast as the understudy to famous actress Jackie (Meghann Fahy), Laura starts to rebuild her life and lets out the rage that’s been building inside her.
What would happen if you combined ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Drop Dead Fred’ and a stage musical? Well, you’d likely end up with something very close to ‘Your Monster’. The quirky film draws inspiration from a wide range of sources to create something a little bit different. We’re introduced to Laura and see her quick descent into misery thanks to the behaviour of her boyfriend Jacob (who honestly, is a total arsehole). With best friend Mazie (Kayla Foster) by her side, Laura presses on the best she can with her life but finds her groove again once Monster re-enters her life.
It's at this point that the film starts to resemble the classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’ TV series as Laura and Monster playful tease one another, perform for one another, and become each other’s cheerleaders. It’s thanks to Monster that Laura crashes the auditions for Jacob’s musical and scores the understudy role. As Laura’s confidence begins to increase, her relationship with Monster starts to have a sexual undertone and she finds an outlet for the rage that’s been building inside her for a while.
Writer and director Caroline Lindy does a good job of weaving all of the film’s elements together. This is a film that will satisfy fans of musicals, and it’s definitely a showcase for the talents of Melissa Barrera, whose career was derailed when she was dropped from ‘Scream 7’ after posting her thoughts on the Israel-Hamas war on social media. That controversy aside, Barrera continues to prove she can do it all by giving a performance with serious range that requires her to act, dance and sing. This is by far the most nuanced performance I’ve seen her give and it’ll be interesting to see if she can get her career back on track.
Matching her for energy is Tommy Dewey as Monster. He’s known for his energetic performances and he has a ball here. Able to hide underneath Monster’s vast costume and make-up job, Dewey has plenty of fun with the character. I’d be amazed if he didn’t brush up on ‘Drop Dead Fred’ to get some tips from Rik Mayall’s classic performance. Dewey and Barrera work well together on screen, and those scenes are among the best moments.
Where ‘Your Monster’ is less successful is that it touches upon some quite serious topics but it doesn’t really explore them. Laura’s cancer is quickly forgotten in the midst of the plot, and remembered when convenient, and the film strongly hints that she’s struggling with her mental health but there’s no attempt to dive into that. Instead, you have to just take what transpires on screen and accept that’s all you’re getting.
‘Your Monster’ is definitely one of the year’s more unusual films and it’s a shame that it’s not getting a wider release than it is. The film deserves a bigger spotlight but I’m confident it’ll still find an audience. While it may be tonally all over the place, the film has enough elements to keep you hooked and Barrera’s performance is the anchor that just about holds it all together.
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Tommy Dewey, Edmund Donovan, Meghann Fahy, Kayla Foster Director: Caroline Lindy Writer: Caroline Lindy Certificate: 15 Duration: 103 mins Released by: Vertigo Releasing Release date: 29th November 2024
