gavin6942 Raymond Aibelli is a promising medical student ready to begin a prestigious summer internship. But Susan, his mother, is immobilized by a broken leg, and his father Tom, a traveling salesman, makes Raymond stay home and take care of his mother, an unhappy woman."Spanking the Monkey" is a god film, not a great film. At he time of its release, it was a box office success, grossing $1,359,736 on a $200,000 budget. And what makes it remarkable today (2017) is how it launched the career of David O. Russell, who has become something of an Academy favorite.The film, on its own merits, is alright. Nothing outstanding, not a landmark film by any means. In fact, it is very typical of the independent movie scene of the 1990s. Although Ray is clearly a success, he is trapped in a world that has him treading water... not altogether different from characters we might find in Kevin Smith or Richard Linklater.

framptonhollis WOW! Here's the type of movie you won't see every day! "Spanking the Monkey" is easily one of the darkest films I have ever seen (and I watched "Salo" only two weeks ago!), but it's also, believe or not, one of the funniest. As a fan of pitch-black comedy, I can assure you that David O. Russel's critically acclaimed debut film is no disappointment. It's full of memorable quotes, cringe inducing sequences, and deep exploration of extremely taboo subjects. It's a film that is wild and ugly, but also brilliant and funny-it's comparable to the absolute best of Todd Solondz's work (such as "Happiness", the only dark comedy that I can definitely claim to be more shocking that this one).Of course, there are many audience members who seem to be complaining that this film is not a "comedy" at all. I can easily see where some may get confused, since the poster and title make this seem like an average sex comedy while it's actually a shocking dark comedy. Many people may not notice all of the subtle and pitch black moments of laugh out loud dark humor that are scattered all throughout this masterpiece. However, I must admit that "Spanking the Monkey" also oozes with tragedy. It's definitely a really depressing film at times, and has many surprisingly intense moments of suspense. If I would have to name any films I've seen that fit the term "tragicomedy", this would easily be one of the first that comes to mind. It DOES contain heavy moments of drama, but the humor is still always there. It may be black as night, but it's still a laugh riot!

MisterWhiplash Ray just wants to go to medical school. More than that, he has a great opportunity at hand: he's got a big chance with a paper he's writing to be selected as one of the ten interns for the Surgeon General in DC. But there's a hitch, an annoying and bib and personal one: his mother, a depressive, has broken her leg quite badly and is in bed and needs help to do basic things: go to the bathroom, take a shower, have meals, etc. So Ray's father, a traveling salesman (and a louse, which we see in snippets though sadly the rest of the family never quite knows about if suspects), tells Ray he has to do this, no one else can help, and it will be about a month. So much for the internship, right? Could he make it? But what about those showers? And lotioning the legs and the under-the-cast area? And those little touches of the forearm. Mom, you're trying to seduce me(?) Um... are you?Spanking the Monkey, a technically and writerly masterstroke (no pun intended) of a debut from director David O. Russell, is simply a sick twisted f*** of a movie made by a man who, at the time at least, was probably a sick twisted f*** as well. You wanna know what this is? Here's a pitch: Young Charles Manson (who Davies later played) does his Mom. There. Go see it. It delivers on that but it's so much more a psychological mind-bender, but told without too much flash and panache - this isn't Three Kings, for example, it's more low-key and low-budget, which adds to the disturbing elements being directed just like a regular indie film from the 90's. And it does try to add a little levity - or more of a typical quirky/awkward sub-plot where Ray may or may not get into a sexual relationship with a high-schooler (no, believe me, this is the more normal part of the movie, awkward kissing and juxtapositions with the dog as well).But be warned, sorta: this is billed as a 'comedy', and it is in the sense that I chuckled a few times. But the character interactions, Davies performance (and here, more than anything else I've seen him outside maybe Rescue Dawn) looks like he's about to explode or cry or both at any moment, and just how Russell takes a very direct approach to the psychological issues at hand, not sugar-coating how much he and his mother need help and we feel for both of them because it's so honest even in its absurdity, make it essential viewing for those looking for subversive American cinema from the 1990's, or ever really. It would be in Amos Vogel's book if it had been made in the 60's or 70's, you mark my words! That it was made for (relatively) so little and looks pretty polished is a further credit (this won the Audience Award at Sundance 94 - the year Clerks was there, to give perspective).

Neil Doyle An independent film that bravely confronts the subject of consensual incest is presented as a dark comedy in which ALBERTA WATSON and JEREMY DAVIES, as mother and son, have the key roles. It's their mother/son relationship at the heart of the story that is compelling and sometimes erotic--especially the scene where Davies has to massage his mother's legs and toes while they discuss why her road travelling husband isn't there to do it for her.When the story strays to others outside this relationship, it fails to make the same connection. The father is strictly a man so obsessed with his own career that he ignores his wife. She, in turn, is a manipulative shrew who virtually seduces her son because she's a needy woman. The son's friends are depicted as total drug-happy boors and boozers whose minds are completely idle.At times the story becomes dark and brooding--even intense--and yet there's a surface tension broken by laughter at some of the shenanigans going on in this dysfunctional, to say the least, family.Outstanding work by JEREMY DAVIES and ALBERTA WATSON. He's highly sympathetic in his predicament all the way through and she's totally despicable in the manner by which she exerts control over him. Both show complete understanding of their difficult roles.Summing up: Interesting tale, character-driven and flawed, but worth watching.