Plot: Monk returns to solve one last, very personal case involving his beloved stepdaughter Molly, a journalist preparing for her wedding.
Review: Running for eight years on USA, Monk held the title of the most-watched scripted series in cable history until the debut of The Walking Dead. Wrapping up in 2009, Adrian Monk returned briefly in a COVID-19 short showing the OCD detective coping during the lockdown. Now, fourteen years after the series finale, Monk returns in his first full-length mystery, Mr. Monk’s Last Case. Reuniting the four main stars and a couple of key supporting players, Mr. Monk’s Last Case follows the detective getting back into the groove as he investigates a murder that hits very close to home. Setting up potential future standalone mystery films led by Tony Shalhoub, this is a decent story that plays more like an extended episode of the series rather than a fully realized movie. Nevertheless, Shalhoub is great whenever he portrays Adrian Monk, and his mannerisms and dry wit make this worth checking out.
A well-known obsessive-compulsive and germaphobe, fans have questioned just how Mr. Monk fared during the COVID-19 pandemic, and, despite the aforementioned short film, Mr. Monk’s Last Case features a brief look at what his life was like during the last three years. Retired and working on his memoir, Monk is preparing for the wedding of his wife, Trudy (Melora Hardin), and her daughter Molly (Caitlin McGee). Molly is preparing to marry Griffin (Austin Scott), an investigative journalist looking into a potential crime involving billionaire Rick Eden (James Purefoy). A blend of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, Eden owns an Amazon-like website and is preparing to become the first civilian in space thanks to his Genesis project. When a connection between Griffin and Eden yields a dead body, Monk comes out of retirement to work the case.
Also back in California for the wedding is Monk’s old assistant Natalie (Traylor Howard), who now lives in Atlanta and works as a realtor. Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) returns from his job as sheriff in New Jersey, where he lives with Monk’s first assistant, Sharona. They also reunite with retired Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine). Monk also visits with his psychiatrist, Dr. Neven Bell (Hector Elizondo), who worries that Monk is lonely and depressed. Monk denies this, although private conversations with the spirit of Trudy point to Monk’s tenuous state of mind. Themes of grief have always been central to Monk, but Mr. Monk’s Last Case dives into thoughts of suicide, which will likely be challenging for some viewers to watch. Nevertheless, this movie still has a lot of levity thanks to Monk’s quirks and peculiarities, which still serve as hilarious ways of offsetting dark subject matter. But, overall, Mr. Monk’s Last Case has an extra dose of connection to the title character’s personal story, which serves as a nice capper beyond the original series finale and wherever the creative team decides to take things from here.
While every episode of Monk has a formulaic structure, there is an extension to that to fill in a movie-length running time. I had expected the mystery to be more involved, but this may be the easiest case for viewers to solve. The clues are laid out so plainly and early in the film that it actually makes the second and third acts of Mr. Monk’s Last Case drag a bit. But this story is not so much about the mystery; it is about spending time with the main characters, catching up on where they have been, and determining where they may be going after this movie. While the title smacks of finality, I could see Tony Shalhoub returning now and then for these one-off tales, as he has not missed a beat playing Adrian Monk. Even at seventy years old, Shalhoub does not look much older than when he originally played the character and still has the mannerisms down pat. All of the supporting players here seem to be slipping back into familiar roles, but Shalhoub is still the star of this series.
Mr. Monk’s Last Case was directed by Randy Zisk, a veteran of directing and producing television series. Zisk helmed thirty-five episodes of Monk and is very familiar with the actors and characters. The movie was written by series creator Andy Breckman, who avoids making this feel like a reunion or a revival. Even the transition to Peacock has not altered the style of the movie, which does not add profanity or other elements not found in the series. Clocking in at about an hour and forty-five minutes, Mr. Monk’s Last Case is subtitled as “A Monk Movie,” which sounds like it could be the first of many. Countless small-screen detectives have transitioned from series to TV movies, including Perry Mason, Matlock, and USA’s own Psych. Like all of those franchises, Mr. Monk’s Last Case doesn’t come off as cinematic or like a movie but rather an extended, standalone episode of the series. Because of how much time has passed since the series finale, this movie does have the requisite catch-up moments to bring newer fans up to speed with where things ended, but that also detracts from the mystery element of the story.
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie is not really a movie, nor is it the character’s last case. This extended episode could be a one-and-done extension of the Monk IP or the first of a series of films debuting once or maybe twice a year. Even though this is a light entry, everything about Monk is light. What made the series so popular was the fun and humor in each episode and the ability to drop into an episode without needing a guide to figure out what was happening. Mr. Monk’s Last Case is just as easy to drop into and enjoy, but I hope this is the start of a continuation of Adrian Monk’s adventures. Fans of the series will be pleased to see their favorites back for another chapter but may be left hoping for a little bit more.