Laura (Melissa Barrera) is having the worst breakup. Not only did her longtime boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan) leave her—he left her in the middle of cancer treatment. He said he couldn't be her caretaker and walked out of her life, leaving her a weepy mess, her things sent to her mom's home, and he even disinvited her to audition for his new show that she had a hand in developing. Her overbearing friend Mazie (Kayla Foster) comes to take her home and give her space to grieve. On a dark and stormy night, Laura runs into a beastly creature known simply as Monster (Tommy Dewey), who's been a part of her life for years, lurking in her mother's closet and dark corners of their home, only occasionally venturing out and crossing paths with her. However, he's not happy with Laura's return, and the two reluctant roommates struggle to find common ground until Laura decides to audition for Jacob's show and, with Monster's help, prove she's no pushover.
It's a charming premise, but the movie written and directed by Caroline Lindy never quite comes together. "Your Monster" is a modern-day "Beauty and the Beast" meets "A Chorus Line," following our heartbroken singer through the bowels of the cutthroat musical theater world instead of an idyllic French countryside and castle. The film's namesake monster falls short of the redemptive arc the Beast experiences in his fairy tale. Instead, he's more of a petulant, combative partner who softens around Laura, supports her, and defends her against the real monster: her ex. Monster starts off as the worst roommate ever, scaring Laura when she's not expecting it, fighting over control of the thermostat and TV, and demanding she leave almost as soon as she's settled in to mourn her heartbreak. Their dynamic never quite feels as satisfying as its inspiration.
The story, which is based on Lindy's own experience of a longtime boyfriend jilting her in the middle of cancer treatment, also bears some resemblance to this year's earlier effort, "Lisa Frankenstein," which billed itself as "A coming of RAGE love story." Similarly, "Your Monster" is also rooted in rage, but Laura takes a lot longer to come around to anger. It takes another act of betrayal – catching Jacob with his new leading lady, Jackie (Meghann Fahy) – for Laura to stop crying and start standing up for herself. But with the help of a horror movie monster, the good girls in both "Lisa Frankenstein" and "Your Monster" are able to grow, embrace their darker impulses, and, yes, tap into that long-withheld rage with the help of a non-so-traditional romantic partner. I only wish "Your Monster" had a bit more fun with that idea along the way.
While it's great to see Barrera back singing after "In the Heights," the songs in "Your Monster" lack a certain kind of show-stopping quality that would have allowed her to show off her range. Even in scenes with Dewey's Monster at home, Barrera's performance plays things rather broad and over-the-top, with lots of screaming between big, tearful outbursts. That tonal confusion can also be seen in the narrative. It feels rather tame when Laura finally embraces her rage as she watches Monster handle the dirty work. Her blood lust feels almost off-key even when she exacts the kind of revenge on a shitty ex that most of us can only imagine. She's not exactly hellbent on revenge as she is trying to get back in his good graces until she realizes those graces are not worth fighting for.
"Your Monster" is a strange beast because it has the ingredients to be a crowd-pleaser, but sometimes those very elements were the things that made me wish the credits would deliver me. Its uneven, heavy-handed approach to breakups and bad exes may quench some urge for revenge, but our main character's heart isn't in it. While the concept feels fresh, its execution is much more predictable. Once Laura goes down this path, we know Jacob will more or less play the part of an unrepentant Gaston, callously pushing her aside for a new prize, and for that, he must be punished, perhaps by a certain hairy suitor. Occasionally, "Your Monster" shows some signs of life, but it's not enough to keep it alive as long as the runtime.
