Editing Inside Monkey Zetterland

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Inside Monkey Zetterland
| image          = Monkeyzetterland.jpg
| caption        = 
| writer         = [[Steve Antin]]<br>[[John Boskovich]]
| starring       = Steve Antin<br>[[Patricia Arquette]]<br>[[Sandra Bernhard]]<br>[[Sofia Coppola]]<br>[[Tate Donovan]]<br>[[Rupert Everett]]<br>[[Katherine Helmond]]<br>[[Bo Hopkins]]<br>[[Ricki Lake]]<br>[[Debi Mazar]]<br>[[Martha Plimpton]]
| director       = [[Jefery Levy]]
| producer       = Steve Antin<br>[[Tani Cohen]]<br>Chuck Grieve<br>Greta Von Steinbauer
| music          = Rick Cox<br>Jeff Elmassian
| cinematography = Christopher Taylor
| editing        = Lauren Zuckerman
| released       = {{Film date|1992|06|05|[[Seattle International Film Festival]]|1993|08|25|United States}}
| studio         = Coast Entertainment
| distributor    = [[IRS Media]]
| runtime        = 93 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = $121,475<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/mobile/fichfilm.php?id=4762 |title=Inside Monkey Zetterland |website=JP Box Office |access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref>
}}
'''''Inside Monkey Zetterland''''' is a 1992 [[independent film|independent]] [[Comedy film|comedy]] film directed by [[Jefery Levy]] and written by [[Steve Antin]]. The film follows Monkey Zetterland, a former child actor turned aspiring screenwriter and the goings-on with his eccentric family and friends. The story uses voiceover narration and is interspersed with fantasy sequences.

==Plot==
Monkey Zetterland is a struggling screenwriter and a former [[child actor]] who is working on a historical script based on the defunct [[Pacific Electric|Red Car subway]] of Los Angeles. He lives in a building owned by his neurotic mother Honor Zetterland, who is a famous [[soap opera]] star. While secretly hoping there is a future in acting for Monkey, she attempts to turn her other son, hairdresser Brent, into a film star.

Honor shows up at Monkey's apartment to borrow his epsom salts at the same time that his disagreeable girlfriend, Daphne, arrives. His sister Grace arrives in tears to reveal that her [[lesbian]] girlfriend, Cindy, has become pregnant from a [[one-night stand]] in an attempt to bring the two of them closer. Honor rents the [[basement apartment]] to Sasha and Sofie, a [[gay]] man and lesbian posing as husband and wife while publishing an underground newsletter that [[Outing|outs]] [[closeted]] gay people in the entertainment industry.

As if this were not enough, a creepy woman, Bella, shows up with a [[Fan mail|fan letter]] for Honor, and another strange lady, Imogene, begins openly pursuing Monkey's attention. After a series of confrontations with Monkey, Daphne moves out. At around the same time, his estranged father Mike, who was absent for long periods of time throughout the Zetterlands’ lives, surfaces in time for [[Thanksgiving]].

While everyone busies themselves with their personal issues, Grace discovers that Sasha and Sofie are in fact terrorists who intend to bomb a local insurance agency that is denying medical coverage to people with [[HIV]] and [[AIDS]]. Sofie comes up with a plan to send Grace into the agency with a bomb, which Grace and Sasha believe is set up to give Grace enough time to escape before it detonates. It is not, and Grace dies in the explosion.

This event pulls everyone out of their own selfish interests and forces them to reexamine their lives and the people around them. The patriarch of the family disappears again, Cindy  and her newborn baby are taken in by the family, and Monkey decides to let Imogene get closer to him. Then, just as things are starting to fall into place, Monkey comes home to find his apartment ransacked and his finally finished script, of which was his only copy,  stolen.

Later that evening, Bella, who left a fan letter for Honor, arrives with Monkey's stolen script and a gun. She tries to shoot Honor, but hits the family dog instead. She is taken down, but the ensuing drama pulls the remaining emotional conflicts of the family into place. Honor accepts that Monkey is never going to become a famous actor. Instead of pushing him into acting, she uses her industry connections to have his script produced into a film starring Brent.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Steve Antin]] as "Monkey" Zetterland
**Nicholas Matus as Young "Monkey" Zetterland
* [[Patricia Arquette]] as Grace
* [[Sandra Bernhard]] as Imogene
* [[Sofia Coppola]] as Cindy
* [[Tate Donovan]] as Brent Zetterland
* [[Rupert Everett]] as Sasha
* [[Katherine Helmond]] as Honor Zetterland
* [[Bo Hopkins]] as Mike Zetterland
* [[Ricki Lake]] as Bella, The Stalker
* [[Debi Mazar]] as Daphne
* [[Martha Plimpton]] as Sofie
* [[Robin Antin]] as Waitress In Canters
* [[Frances Bay]] as Grandma
* [[Luca Bercovici]] as Boot Guy
* Chuck Grieve as Guy At Taco Stand
* [[Lance Loud]] as The Psychiatrist
* Chris Nash as Policeman
* [[Lou Pearlman]] as The Warden / Observation Psychiatrist (as Louis J. Pearlman)
* [[Blair Tefkin]] as Brent's Assistant
* [[Marc Lafia]] as Observation Psychiatrist
* Melissa Sullivan as Observation Psychiatrist (as Melissa Lechner)
* Lauren Zuckerman as Observation Psychiatrist
}}

== Production ==
The inspiration from the script came from Steve Antin’s own background, as he himself started out as a child actor before getting into writing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karpel |first=Ari |date=November 19, 2010 |title=The Diva Whisperer |url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/film/2010/11/19/diva-whisperer |access-date=January 11, 2023 |website=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |language=en |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111080503/https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/film/2010/11/19/diva-whisperer |url-status=live }}</ref> The script originated as a book of short stories titled ''Campfire Stories''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Yamato |first=Jen |date=November 23, 2010 |title=Steven Antin On Burlesque, Wooing Cher, and Discovering Ian Somerhalder |url=http://movieline.com/2010/11/23/steven-antin-talks-burlesque-cher-and-discovering-ian-somerhalder/ |access-date=January 11, 2023 |website=[[Movieline]] |language=en-US}}</ref> While Antin was filming the 1988 movie ''[[The Accused (1988 film)|The Accused]]'', [[Jodie Foster]] asked to read some of Antin's stories, after which she suggested he turn the stories into a film script.<ref name=":1" />

==Release==
The film had its world premiere at the 1992 [[Seattle International Film Festival]] on June 5, 1992.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 7, 1992 |title=Seattle International Film Festival |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920507&slug=1490381 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=[[The Seattle Times]] |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109045251/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920507&slug=1490381 |url-status=live }}</ref> It went on to screen at the [[Toronto International Film Festival|Toronto Festival of Festivals]] on September 12, 1992,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Rosie |date=September 17, 1992 |title=Toronto Talk Film Fest Glitter |work=NOW |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/now-magazine/19920917/282548721776705 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109045259/https://www.pressreader.com/canada/now-magazine/19920917/282548721776705 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was given a limited release in the United States on August 25, 1993.

=== Home media ===
It was released in 1994 on VHS and in 1995 on [[Laserdisc]]. The film was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inside Monkey Zetterland - Releases |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/inside-monkey-zetterland-v121609/releases |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=[[AllMovie]] |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109045259/https://www.allmovie.com/movie/inside-monkey-zetterland-v121609/releases |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Critical reception==

On review aggregate website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Inside Monkey Zetterland'' has an approval rating of 71% based on 7 reviews.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inside Monkey Zetterland |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inside_monkey_zetterland |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |archive-date=12 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250212224201/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inside_monkey_zetterland |url-status=live }}</ref>

Emanuel Levy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' said the film "is funny, sharp-tongued and devious, but never wicked or nasty. Its resonant comedy is so attuned to the Zeitgeist that any urban dweller will find something relevant in it."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |date=July 23, 1992 |title=Inside Monkey Zetterland |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/1992/film/reviews/inside-monkey-zetterland-2-1200430262/ |access-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109045259/https://variety.com/1992/film/reviews/inside-monkey-zetterland-2-1200430262/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Marjorie Baumgarten of ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' gave it three stars, writing, "These actors all create riveting snapshots of oddballs in action," but also noting the film has a "rambling storyline".<ref>{{cite news |last=Baumgarten |first=Marjorie |date=November 19, 1993 |title=Inside Monkey Zetterland |work=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Calendar/Film?Film=oid:138988 |archive-date=March 11, 2007 |access-date=July 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054002/http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Calendar/Film?Film=oid:138988 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Negative reviews criticized the story and characterization. Desson Howe of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote, "After the characters have taken up most of the movie airing their idiosyncrasies, they undergo melodramatic fates that reveal little more than Antin's recession of an imagination."<ref>{{cite news |last=Howe |first=Desson |date=December 3, 1993 |title='Inside Monkey Zetterland' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/insidemonkeyzetterlandrhowe_a0b016.htm |archive-date=December 1, 2024 |access-date=February 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241201045726/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/insidemonkeyzetterlandrhowe_a0b016.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[TV Guide (magazine)|TV Guide]]'' gave a mixed review, praising the film for "inescapably [capturing] the LA attitude", but noting "it has no real center, a point underlined by frequent scenes in which characters drift not only out of the frame, but into different rooms."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Inside Monkey Zetterland |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/inside-monkey-zetterland/review/2030119575/ |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=[[TV Guide (magazine)|TV Guide]]}}</ref> The review commented that Levy "never gives a clue how he relates to his characters or story, which isn't much help to the viewer", but observed Coppola is given a chance to redeem herself after her much maligned performance in ''[[The Godfather Part III]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Stephen Holden of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the ensemble cast and said the film "flaunts a number of audacious cinematic tricks", but disliked the film's "mood of manic chaos".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=1993-10-15 |title=Reviews/Film; Cut to: A Screenwriter, Very Harried. Present Day. |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/15/movies/reviews-film-cut-to-a-screenwriter-very-harried-present-day.html |access-date=2023-06-13 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2023-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613032515/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/15/movies/reviews-film-cut-to-a-screenwriter-very-harried-present-day.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Accolades ===
Tate Donovan was nominated for [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male|Best Supporting Male]] at the [[9th Independent Spirit Awards|1994 Independent Spirit Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=36 Years of Nominees and Winners |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/SA_SubForm_etc/2021_SA_ALLNomineesWinners_063021.pdf |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=[[Film Independent]] |archive-date=August 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813204435/https://s3.amazonaws.com/SA_SubForm_etc/2021_SA_ALLNomineesWinners_063021.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The film was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Feature at the 1993 [[Sundance Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Todd |date=November 30, 1992 |title=Lineup taking shape for Sundance film fest |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/1992/film/news/lineup-taking-shape-for-sundance-film-fest-101651/ |access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*{{IMDb title|id=0107220|title=Inside Monkey Zetterland}}
*{{Rotten Tomatoes|inside_monkey_zetterland}}

[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s satirical films]]
[[Category:1992 black comedy films]]
[[Category:1992 films]]
[[Category:1992 independent films]]
[[Category:1992 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:American satirical films]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:Films about actors]]
[[Category:Films about screenwriters]]
[[Category:Films about stalking]]
[[Category:Films about terrorism]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jefery Levy]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Gay-related films]]
[[Category:Lesbian-related films]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related comedy films]]