When I first heard that there was going to be a “Monk” movie, I was a bit skeptical. As much as I love “Monk”, I thought the series ended on a beautiful note. The final two episodes wrapped up everything that all the characters, and all the episodes had been building up to. I had no idea what they could possibly do to continue the story in an impactful and meaningful way. I am happy to say that “Mr. Monk’s Last Case” adds a beautiful final chapter to Adrian Monk’s story.
The movie continues the story of “Monk” by showing what Mr. Monk was doing during, and now after Covid. Seeing Mr. Monk during COVID-19 was a hilarious sight that I very much wanted to see. Mr. Monk has always been a germaphobe, washing his hands, and disinfecting them at any opportunity. Now that the world has changed since Covid more and more people are like him. Stopping frequently to sanitize their hands, elbow bumping instead of shaking hands. (admittedly most people don’t do this anymore) It is a mix of comedy and happiness to see Mr. Monk realize that he wasn’t crazy for wanting to stay clean and taking the extra precautions that allowed him to live his lifestyle. “Monk” has always touched on mental health in its run on air, and this movie dives deep into Mr. Monk’s psyche. The premise of the movie is that since Mr. Monk has retried and solved the case of his wife’s murder (that was the whole premise of the TV show) he has decided that he is ready to be reunited with his wife. The movie shows Mr. Monk struggling with thoughts of suicide, as he believes that he has nothing left to live for after his step-daughter Molly’s wedding which is supposed to happen within the next week. (That the movie takes place during) Before the wedding, Molly’s fiancé is murdered, and she makes a plea to Mr. Monk to solve his murder. Mr. Monk agrees and the plot really kicks off.
The greatest part of the movie to me is how it handles the quirky nature of “Monk” with the serious topic that it is covering. The whole point of the movie is to show that Mr. Monk is not alone and that despite what he believes his friends truly love and care about him. In the TV series, Mr. Monk never gets to be happy, I mean truly happy. Even at the end of the series, there is a bittersweet taste in Mr. Monk’s mouth. Throughout this movie, as the audience, we get a lot of fun callbacks to the series but for the character of Mr. Monk, there are moments that show that his plan to end his life would hurt so many people. At the end of the movie, Mr. Monk sees how many lives he made better through his work and his companionship. Mr. Monk gets to be redeemed in his own eyes, and his friends and we the audience get to see him happy for the first time since he was with his wife.
This became more than just writing a classic movie review for me. I saw myself in Mr. Monk, not just in this movie, but in the series as a whole. Getting to see him get a happy ending and realize how important he was to so many people brought a tear to my eye. This movie really shows mental health and how it can change someone, and it is great to see Mr. Monk overcome his problems.
I will miss “Monk” but I am glad the series gets to go out on such a high note. This is a great movie with a great message. I give “Mr. Monk’s Last Case” a 4/5.
