MR MONK'S LAST CASE-Alas Not a Classy Finale with Tony Shalhoub

MONK the TV series ran for 7 years and I was a steadfast fan to the very last. I was fully onboard for a movie reuniting its likeable cast. I anticipated having a blast with Monk (the incomparable Tony Shalhoub) as the neurotic detective whose behavioral tics and analytic shtick made him the most beloved  TV detective since Peter Falk as Colombo. Surely his annoying antics in the just released movie MR MONK'S LAST CASE would be reprised in a formidable format.  Monk, afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder and being a germaphobe is at times off-putting to most people, but found to be endearing to those who know and appreciate his gentility and genius. The movie takes place in the post-COVID, present. COVID set Monk back into being the anti-social, homebody that is his nature.  Knowing this time of isolation would be difficult for Monk, his stepdaughter moved in with him over the pandemic. Now, post-pandemic, and post Monk's glory years in the Bay Area solving murder cases, his stepdaughter is about to be wed. Monk offers to pay for the wedding having been given a lucrative advance for writing about his numerous solved cases. The scenes with Monk meeting with his editor, played by Shalhoub's wife in real life, Brooke Adams, is a classic comedic scene playing up to Monk's eccentricities.  Unfortunately, the movie doesn't maintain this level of clever humor which made the TV series a fan favorite. The cast was reunited for some hits and misses. Hector Elizondo reprises his role as Monk's shrink, Dr Neven Bell. Their scenes together are the best part of the film. Bell's genuine concern for Monk and Monk's trust in Bell make for movie magic. Monk's conversations with his late wife (Melora Hardin) convey grief, despair and understanding in a heartfelt and intelligent manner.  Ted Levine reprising his role as Sgt Leland looks like a corpse being made-up. His makeup is far worse than Trump's faux orange tan. The case itself has a supercilious plot with a villain who mirrors Jeff Bezos as a corporate billionaire. It never made sense why the billionaire needed to kill Monk's stepdaughter's fiancé' the night before their wedding. The TV plots were subjugated to the fun inherent in solving the cases, the camaraderie of the crew and Monk's sleuthing reveal much like Colombo. The heavy handed hokey finale features a slew of corpses sheathed in white who appear to Monk to thank him for bringing closure and justice for their murders. Monk doesn't recognize one woman who tells him, "They haven't found me yet. I'm in a cooler." This was a stinky spoiler for a delightful detective series despite Shalhoub's superb acting in the reprisal of his  iconic role.