Your Monster – Review

As Laura Franco (Berrera) gets discharged from the hospital after beating cancer, it should be a happy day, but her spirits are in the dumps. She can barely muster moving, and feels “like death” when her friend Mazie Silverberg (Foster) picks her up. Laura can’t help but think about her old life, as she was just dumped by her now-ex Jacob Sullivan (Donovan). Despite beating a deadly disease, she is devastated.

Jacob left her due to all her cancer-related needs, and how she will need a caretaker for quite a while. He dumps her while she is in a hospital bed. Enter… depression. Home, sweet home hits Laura, as she moves back into her mom’s home. Mazie helps get her settled, and breaks the news that she already picked her stuff up from Jacob’s house.

Laura is on the struggle bus, just trying not try cry, much less having any ability to take care of herself as a human being. She sobs. She changes bandages, while crying. Then she leaks tears while chowing on ice cream. She runs out of tissues, and hits up Amazon for more. It’s a real thing.

So, how does one break a heart-shattering funk? Well, she starts working on songs, playing her piano and reminiscing over past relationship memories. She writes, she sings, and slowly a bit pulls her head out of the deep dark depression caves. All she has ever wanted was to be on Broadway, her dream of getting her music on the stage. The problem is, her ex is a playwright, and she can’t escape that world while focusing on what she loves.

Well so this seems like a drama so far, but then Laura starts hearing noises upstairs in her childhood bedroom. Uhhh… okay. So yeah, there is a monster in her closet. And at first, this is a big issue. But then things get… interesting. While taking care of herself and recovering from cancer, Laura must now grapple with a new world without her cherished boyfriend, and with a strange new monstrous figure in her life that she forms a strange relationship with.

Your Monster puts together the worlds of musicals, play acting, dating and literal monsters in the closet. I found it pretty funny throughout, and it makes some bold choices at times. It’s hard not to sympathize a bit with Laura, especially after what she went through with her disease, and relationships ending always sucks.

Berrera is great, both as ragged and rundown Laura, and the confident and singing version of herself presented in her past and what she is working to attain again. Her voice rocks, and compliments her acting. The core story of Laura and the Monster is a pretty fun tale to watch unfold, just know things do get a little hairy at times. The ending may throw you off, but overall, this movie is a pretty fun time with a few goofy moments and a touch of fright. Check out Your Monster, it’s a fairly unique romantic comedy.