March 18, 1994
Monkey Trouble is a 1994 American comedy drama film directed by Franco Amurri and starring Thora Birch and Harvey Keitel.
Storyline
Eva Gregory (Thora Birch) lives in Los Angeles with her mother Amy (Mimi Rogers), her brother Jack (Adrian and Julian Johnson), and her stepfather Tom (Christopher McDonald), a police lieutenant. Tom's daughter Tessa (Alison Elliott) occasionally babysits Eva and Jack. Eva wants a dog, but her mother does not think she is responsible enough to take care of a pet, her stepfather is allergic to fur, and she cannot keep the pet at her father Peter's (Kevin Scannell) house because he is a pilot and travels a lot.
A gypsy kleptomaniac Azro (Harvey Keitel), whose wife and son Mark (Adam LaVorgna) recently left him, is now a vagabond, and lives off the grid with his intelligent Capuchin monkey Fingers (Finster). Azro blames Fingers for his wife and son leaving. He works as a hurdy gurdy-playing busker at Venice Beach, using Fingers' cuteness as a way to lure in tourists. Azro has taught Fingers how to pickpocket the audience members. A pair of Italian mafia members named Drake (Robert Miranda) and Charlie (Victor Argo) show up to Azro's act. They deduce Azro's scheme, and proposition him to bigger and better opportunities. They ask him to join their crime syndicate, with Fingers using his pickpocket skills to burglarize homes of socialites. The men want to do a test run to see how Fingers will act, and they drive to a random residence, Eva's home. Fingers successfully steals various expensive items, and Azro joins the crime group. Feeling ashamed of his actions, later that night Fingers runs away from Azro.
The next day, as Eva is walking home from school, Fingers drops from a tree and latches himself onto Eva. She instantly becomes connected to him, and names him "Dodger", as he likes Eva's baseball cap which is labeled after the same named team. Eva keeps the monkey a secret and hides him in her bedroom. She becomes more responsible with her chores, and helps take care of her infant brother Jack, to whom she reveals Dodger. She researches information on his breed. When Eva has to leave for school, she leaves him in the care of a woman who runs a pet shop near her home, Annie (Jo Champa). Eva fibs that the monkey is a present for her mother. Azro tries to find the monkey, and the Italian mafia members pester him over this.
Eva spends some weekends with her father, and worries about how she can hide Dodger while she's away. However, Peter leaves a phone message that he's in Canada and can't have her over. She takes advantage of this circumstance to have a personal weekend alone with Dodger in her father's empty house, and hides his message from her mother and stepfather. She has her best friend Katie (Remy Ryan) and her mother Missy (Deborah White) drive her to her father's house. During the trip, Eva secretly reveals Dodger to Katie. Once there, Eva realizes that she doesn't have a key to her father's house. Dodger is able to break into the home. Once inside, they realize that there isn't any food and Eva has not brought any money. She decides to busk for money with Dodger at Venice Beach boardwalk near Peter's house. While Eva is riding her bike to the boardwalk, Dodger and Azro spot each other, and without Eva being aware, Dodger jumps off her bike. Azro tries to catch Dodger, but he is caught by the mafia members who take him away from the scene. Dodger then secretly makes his way back to Eva's bike, and they start their performance, with Dodger secretly pickpocketing everybody just as with when he was with Azro.
At a grocery store that evening, with Dodger hiding in Eva's backpack, he steals and hides food without Eva knowing. The management of the store, unaware there is a monkey in her backpack, assume Eva is shoplifting and allow her to return the items without being punished. Eva is puzzled, opens her backpack in a back aisle of the store, and sees the items Dodger stole. When she returns home, she scolds him. Dodger then reveals all the items he has stolen since he met Eva. She realizes that he was taught how to pickpocket and break into buildings. She decides to teach him not to steal anymore.
Azro finds out about the supermarket incident, and a store manager gives him Peter's address. Eva is now preparing to return home and calls a taxi. Azro arrives at the house, and Eva is scared of him. She and Dodger run out of the house and escape. The next day, Azro finds out Dodger is at Annie's pet shop. Azro attacks Annie and steals Dodger back. Azro is aghast when he discovers that the monkey won't steal anymore during a meeting with the mafia members.
Later Tom and Amy find the items that Dodger stole in Eva's room. They confront her about it. Eva tries to explain about Dodger and how he was trained to steal, but Amy and Tom don't believe her as all the evidence is pointing right at Eva. Soon, Peter arrives and Amy tells him Eva had been stealing all over town and blaming it on some imaginary invisible monkey, but Eva tries to explain he is real and is sent to her room until she admits she did it. After a while, Eva's toddler brother Jack finds Dodger in Eva's room and tries to point this out to Eva, but Peter is convinced he means the stuffed monkey. Jack crawls under the bed and Dodger comes out from under the bed and the adults find Eva was telling the truth all along.
At the park, Eva is searching for Dodger. When her search becomes exhausted, she sits down at a picnic table, worrying about Dodger. Azro sneaks up on her, but Eva sees him and tries to get away, but he stops her with his cane and questions him what she did with his monkey. Azro explains that the monkey belongs to his son Mark, but Eva calls him a liar and tries to run, but Azro stops her again and angrily tells her his monkey's name is Fingers and how he hates the Dodgers and holds her hostage to look for him.
Dodger tracks Eva down who is held hostage by Azro. He fires a gun that he stole from Tom to stop him. Dodger threatens Azro by pointing the gun at him. Azro tells Dodger Eva is a nice little girl and loves her so much. Eva thinks he's lying as she watches off to the side. Dodger points the gun at Azro again and he tries to hide behind a tree, the gunshot barely misses him. Before long, Amy, Tom and Peter arrive. Eva runs to them. Tom recovers his gun on the ground that Dodger dropped.
Shortly after, Azro is running to his truck and the mafia makes orders him to get in their car. Azro begs for mercy for them not to kill him. Soon Tom shows up to flash his badge. Officer Kates pulls up in the police car. The mafia gets in their car and drives away. Azro runs up to Tom and tries to tell him he'd been trying to tell them the mafia were killers and trying to hurt him, but Tom and Kates grab him and place him under arrest. Kates inspects Azro's bag of stolen jewelry and finds Amy's pin, much to Tom's rejoice and tells Kates to book Azro and he runs off to return the pin to Amy.
Eva asks Amy and Peter if she can keep Dodger, but they hear Mark's voice call for Fingers. Mark and Eva lets the monkey decide, but Mark lures him with a lizard, which makes him run to Mark, leaving Eva depressed by her loss. Mark is dragging Fingers by the leash who wants to change his mind and return to Eva. Eventually while Mark is trying to use the payphone, Dodger figures out the leash's loop and undoes it and runs back to Eva, who sees him and joyfully runs to him and picks him up.
Next day at school, Eva brings Jack and Dodger to school for her show and tell project, thus ending the movie.
Sound Effects Used
Image Gallery