Monkey Trouble

Fans of Reservoir Dogs will be stunned to see Mr White himself, Harvey Keitel, in this kiddie comedy (he apparently agreed to do it for his young daughter). And he does look a tad uncomfortable as the small-time gypsy thief who has a monkey named Dodger (Finster, who really does get top billing over Keitel), trained to pick the pockets of people walking by. Things get complicated when the Mob want to borrow the creature for their own ends, and instead it runs away and is taken in by little Eva (Birch), who gets a shock when it brings her the treasures of everyone in the neighbourhood.
Finster, who also appeared in Cutthroat Island, steals the show, and Birch makes for a cute kiddie lead. There’s nice support from Mimi Rogers and Christopher McDonald as Eva’s mum and stepdad, but anyone over the age of twelve will find the high jinks boring, while grown-ups will be distracted by Keitel’s disconcerting and at times bizarre performance.