“Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie” is the second in a monthly column of mental health articles by Karen Munson. The next article can be found at “From the Ground Up: A Surprising Mental Health Boost”.
Warning: This article contains spoilers and discussion of sensitive topics.
No doubt Monk fans were thrilled to watch the reunion movie, Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie, released in December 2023 starring Tony Shalhoub as Monk and Garfield County resident Ted Levine as Captain Stottlemeyer.
The movie opens with Monk’s gargantuan memoir being rejected by publishers who had given him an advance to write about the 140 homicide cases he had solved. His obsessive/compulsive nature focused more on inconsequential details such as the vacuum cleaner of a victim or the many repairs Monk had made on his stove, rather than the clues that helped him solve the cases.
The novel kept him going in the ten years since the separation from his friends on the force who had gone their own ways. Randy Disher took a position as a New Jersey sheriff, his assistant had married and moved away, and Captain Stottlemeyer had retired. Monk feels abandoned by his tribe. Now Monk has to return the publisher’s advance money, he has no book to write, and he has no support system from friends. And that is when the main theme of this last case is introduced, not death by murder, but death by suicide.
Writer Andy Breckman saw the movie as a classic American It’s a Wonderful Life-type story that opens with a man contemplating suicide but turns into a heart-warming story to counter the bleak elements.
“Mr. Monk’s Last Case is a story that is powerful, emotional, funny, heartwarming, and has something to say about the human condition. … It’s been nearly fourteen years since the world has seen a fresh installment of Monk. The world has changed mightily in those intervening years and Monk 2023 reflects the changing world,” reads a joint statement from executive producer David Hoberman, director/EP Randy Zisk and creator/writer/EP Andy Breckman.
The usual comedic side of the series takes on a more somber tone as viewers see the challenges Monk faces. He doesn’t ‘belong.’ He has no purpose. And he yearns to be reunited with Trudy, his wife whose murder he finally solved in the last season of the Monk series. The first hint is when he begins opening a window in the skyscraper at the publisher’s after his manuscript is rejected. Other hints follow.
When the pharmacy delivery boy asks, “Do you want us to renew your prescription?” Monk replies, “No, this should do it.” He has hoarded the pills, with a dozen bottles neatly stacked in his medicine cabinet.
When he doesn’t tip the delivery boy, the young man offers, “Maybe next time.” Monk counters, “There may not be a next time. I’ll be going away for a while.”
When Monk and his assistant see an older dog that doesn’t qualify for rescue at the pound due to its quirky habits and facing potential euthanasia, Monk relates to the canine. He says to his assistant, “He doesn’t want to be rescued. He wants to be let go.” As they are leaving, he turns to the dog and whispers, “You give up all the hope you want.”
During the movie, Monk is solving the murder of his step-daughter’s fiancé, Griffin, who died on the eve of their wedding. Monk is in action again, and though he is eager to join Trudy, (“I’ll be with you soon. I can’t wait”) he is once again working with his old team who have arrived for the wedding, and San Fransisco’s new homicide captain, who has a file full of folders of unsolved cases.
Monk still feels useless, citing case after case of current murders to his psychiatrist. In a following scene, Monk’s deceased wife, Trudy, with whom he has been conversing throughout the movie, calls forth the victims whose families have had closure because Monk solved their cases. He begins to feel his worth again. What he did still mattered. The tipping point is when he doesn’t recognize one of the spirits Trudy has brought to visit him. “I’m one of the unsolved cases in the freezer,” the victim explains, referring to the captain’s filing cabinet full of unsolved homicides. Monk has work to do.
The movie ends with its audience cheering and tearing up for Monk, the quirky, obsessive, self-absorbed Monk. He has overcome his largest hurdle. He has a purpose and a new tribe to work with. He is needed. He belongs. He has hope again.
Do you have a tribe you can connect with when you feel lonely? Do you have a purpose when you awaken each morning? Do you have hope for new connections, another conversation, a need to be filled by you? Look around and identify someone you can lift and befriend, especially when you are feeling lonely yourself. Look around and see something that needs doing, big or small. You have something to offer and can make a difference. Set a small goal for yourself and make a plan. Perhaps you can help someone else or begin a task that has waited for your attention.
We all care about our friends and family, our neighbors, and our co-workers. The Monk movie can serve as an informal model for what to listen for in warning signs of concern when someone feels a loss of hope, belonging, or purpose. We can find ways to help them see, feel, and understand they are valuable and needed.
– by Karen Munson
Feature image caption: The fictional characters Adrian Monk and his wife, Trudy, in the new movie, Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie. Courtesy of Peacock.
Karen M. Munson – Escalante
Karen is an associate editor at The Byway. She is fascinated and fulfilled by all things involved with writing. After graduating from BYU, she taught English at Escalante High School for three years. She pursues opportunities to write and support others in their writing. Karen has published three books with four more scheduled to be released in 2024. She and Reed are the parents of ten children and the grandparents of 35 grandchildren.
Karen is the author of two columns in The Byway, A New Twist on Mental Health and Lyle’s Corner.