IF YOU were in any doubt about what to expect from this musical stage adaptation of the hit comedy film of the same name, the opening two minutes featuring an oiled, muscled stripper called Keno will dispel any illusions you had of having an intellectually stimulating night out.
Sitting on the front row of the Broadway Theatre's intimate studio space, my face was just inches from the man's well-toned buttocks and if I had to rate the show on backsides alone his would be a perfect five out of five.
Unfortunately, the quality of bare behinds went rapidly down hill from there, although there is no shortage of them.
Nevertheless, this small but perfectly formed production, directed by Thom Southerland, is a mercilessly camp, hilarious, and uplifting night out which goes to prove size definitely doesn't matter.
Despite the story being transported from the film's original Sheffield setting to Buffalo in America, the tale of six unemployed steel workers desperately trying to keep afloat is essentially the same.
It is Saturday night and best friends Jerry (Adam Bayjou) and Dave (Peter St James) are tired of being overlooked by the women in the lives in favour of a bunch of "poofs" prancing around on stage with their trousers round their ankles.
Jerry is convinced he and his blue-collar buddies could do better and with the potential to make a few thousand bucks, stripping would get them all out of a financial black hole.
With the help of reluctant, overweight Dave, disco-dancing Horse (Herve Goffings), suicidal security guard Malcolm (Gareth Nash), the so-called 'lunchbox' Ethan (Robert Rees), and former boss Harold (Nick Fawcett), male strip group Hot Metal is formed.
However, it is a bumpy road to the inevitable full monty promised by the group and the men not only have to get to grips with their less than perfect physiques but also face the harsh realities of unemployment and the impact it has had on their everyday lives and relationships.
In a time of economic uncertainty, each man needs the money as desperately as the other.
Jerry needs to come up with enough money to support his teenage son or risk losing him to his estranged wife, while Harold is on the brink of bankrupcy after hiding the truth about his unemployment to his spend-thrift wife.
While the subject matter is hard-hitting the characters ooze enough warmth, charm and humour to uplift even the heaviest of hearts.
The script is joyfully lighthearted and is surprisingly faithful to the original film.
Where it veers away from the celluloid is in its injection of camp frivolity and cheeky innuendo.
It gives the show an element of pantomime at times and detracts from the poignant and serious message Simon Beaufoy's original script was attempting to convey.
However, the side-splittingly funny pianist Jeanette, played in drag by the brilliant Anthony Wise, is a showstopping hoot and besides, where would theatre be without the odd queen or two?
And lest we forget the songs which are, well, forgettable but as upbeat and feisty as a Chippendale with a g-string on fire.
It was just a shame that only a few of the cast could hold a note.
Billed by promoters as the ultimate girls night out, it provides enough male flesh, albeit of the average joe kind, to keep those hungry eyes full.
At the same time, it has an appeal to the heterosexual man in equal measure with its tale of wounded male pride and self-discovery.
As to whether the characters eventually bite the bullet and bare all, you will have to find out for yourselves.
The Full Monty. The Broadway Theatre, Catford Broadway, Catford. Until November 29. Tickets from £10. Concessions available. 020 8690 1000.
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