Monk, the return: is the film released after the series worth it? [critique]

Tony Shalhoub returns in a final investigation, this evening on TF1.

Between 2002 and 2009, Adrien Monk delighted viewers who loved police investigations, with his unique personality and his sidekicks who were always ready to support him despite his difficulties. In 2023, almost 15 years after the end of the series, which ran for 8 seasons, Peacock unveiled a TV movie entitled Monk, the returnwhich arrives this Wednesday evening in the clear on TF1.

Fans of the show will be able to dive back into this universe that is both funny and touching. And even those who haven't followed the whole story will be able to have a good time watching this new investigation that is both wacky and full of nostalgia, which shows Adrien more tormented than ever, the Covid-19 epidemic having considerably increased his phobias.

“It's jungle out there”

The series Monk had been given a real ending, including the denouement of the story of Trudy, Monk's wife brutally murdered in her car in a parking lot. It was the common thread of the entire story, and finally Adrien could calm down a little, getting answers to all his questions.

This “back” is therefore to be taken for what it is: a kind of bonus episode where what strikes you right away is how delighted everyone seems to be to be reunited. Tony Shalhoub's enthusiasm is contagious, spilling over to Ted Levine (Leland Stottlemeyer), Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger), Jason Gray-Stanford (Randy Disher) and Hector Elizondo (Dr. Neven Bell), who answered the call. The only one missing from this reunion is Bitty Shram, aka Sharona, who had left the series prematurely before returning for a few key scenes. Here, she is nevertheless mentioned via flashbacks from the series pilot, just to bring things full circle.

Barrier gestures and sincere affection

The global pandemic could have sounded like a pretext for this new investigation, but very quickly, this idea is accepted as obvious. Obviously, Adrien Monk was hit hard by Covid! This only made his trauma worse, so he lost his contract with his publisher, for whom he had been trying to write his memoirs… for ten years. After all these upheavals, he places enormous hopes in the marriage of his stepdaughter, Molly (now played by Caitlin McGee). It is this event that brings Natalie and Randy back to San Francisco, and it is also the starting point of the investigation, when the future husband dies in an improbable accident. A foul play is suspected, so Monk and his former teammates embark on a final investigation.

As often with Monkthe investigation ultimately matters less than its impact on its main character. Faced with newcomers Austin Scott, Emma Ishta and James Purefoy, Adrien is often funny, and he is also more touching than ever. Unable to control his OCD that has resurfaced, he tries to keep up appearances to help Molly, but deep down he thinks about suicide, as he still feels so incapable of adapting to the world around him. “It's Jungle out there”sang Randy Newman in the credits, and it's still true: Monk remains a man in pain, and it's when he delves into the darkest facets of his anti-hero that Tony Shalhoub is at his most accurate.

A promise kept by the actor, who assured the public at the time of conceiving this film:

“He's a Monk of today, after we've been away from him for 13 or 14 years. He's a Post-Covid Monk. The epidemic made him relapse. He's aged. He won't be able to run after bad guys in the street or do stuff like that anymore. Well, I hope so! (Laughs) We'll have to take into account in the writing the fact that Monk is older.

This story is very interesting. I can't tell you too much, but it's going to take all the core elements of the show, and make sure there's a few twists and turns as usual. I'm really looking forward to it, because when we finished the series, it really felt like a goodbye. To get to see where they're all at is special. All these characters have been through things over the years, they've changed.”

Monk back in quarantine: an unpublished video against the Coronavirus