Spanking the Monkey
Spanking the Monkey
| 15 January 1994 (USA)
Spanking the Monkey Trailers

Bright young student Raymond Aibelli is forced to sidetrack an important medical internship because his mother, Susan, is recovering from a broken leg. When he isn't tasked with the most mundane aspects of Susan's recuperation, Raymond finds distraction in a neighborhood girl, Toni Peck. But, as Susan begins relying on her son for both physical and emotional needs, Raymond starts developing disturbing and unwanted new yearnings.

Reviews
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!
Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
hetfield91 I decided to check out all the feature movies directed by David O'Russel after watching some random, mostly indie comedy drama movies, in search for some author oriented work.Spanking the Monkey serves as O'Russel's feature movie debut and it surely is a black comedy. It tales a story of Raymond and his crushing dream of becoming a doctor after his father tells him he should delay his medical internship in order to care for his mother who recently fractured the leg and his father can't do this because he works as a travelling salesman.Movie is really well written but with some undeveloped parts such as Raymond's misadventures with his "company". Many people will sympathize with the main protagonist and O'Russel masterly uses some metaphors to show in what paradoxical situation he is, for instance, when he wants to "spank the monkey" but he is always distracted by his dog. Absurdity of his situation is greatly increased as he feels sexual passion for his mother after being sexually rejected by an underage girl who she met while walking his dog.Movie is a must see for those interested in "indie" and "coming of age" pictures including a self reflective protagonist dealing with difficulties in the most sensitive part of his/her life.
Chris Smith (RockPortReview) With a title like "Spanking the Monkey" it's bound to induce some odd looks. What lies within is a brilliantly twisted film that is made to make you squirm and feel uneasy. This film deals with the incestuous relationship between a dude and his mother. When you think of other famous mother and son combos, Hitchcock's Psycho and the original Friday the 13th come to mind, but they were horror films. "Monkey" is quite funny at times but also bizarre at others. This was the first film by Director David O. Russell, who is most known for the Persian Gulf movie "Three Kings." Med student Ray Aibelli (played by Jeremy Davies, the island physicist from "Lost") arrives home for summer vacation set on taking a prestigious internship only to have to take care of his injured mother instead. She has a broken leg and would rate pretty high on the MILF scale if you ask me. Ray's father is an uptight traveling salesman who is always on the road, and screwing other women. If you have ever been in a situation when a parent is completely dependant on you, you will get an even more bizarre joy out of this movie. We watch as Ray carries his mom back and forth to the bathroom, then has to hold her hand as she showers. Davies plays these scenes perfectly with equal parts awkwardness and a sort of voyeurism.Ray's mother keeps a tight leash on Ray weather she needs him or not. If she has to suffer, Ray should too. As the saying goes misery loves company. He is kept as a virtual prisoner in the same house he grew up in. The urge to free yourself from your parents starts at an early age for many and when freedom is finally achieved, returning for any extended period of time can be a huge psychological blow. Ray is even pestered on numerous occasions by the dog when trying to get some bathroom privacy (think of the title.) When Ray is able go out he starts up a relationship with a neighborhood high school girl named Toni. Just what he needs more awkward relationships and complications. He also hangs around a bunch of guys who aren't really friends, but its the only other option. When you have a few months to kill, and limited options how do you pass the time? Ray is a regular, nice guy and director Russell make you feel every cringe worthy moment.Although funny at times, this really is a dark and disturbing movie and is not for everyone. Made on a budget of about $200,000 in the summer of 1993, it was also shown at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival were it won the Audience Award. If you like your movies on the edge give this one a look.
selenedm999 Having "come of age" so to speak in the mid-1990s, I pine for the 1993-1998 period, for music, films, and (lack of) fashion. I know those days aren't coming back, but when I feel most "grown up," and the most like a loser, Spanking the Monkey is a film I'll return to watch again and again. Because no matter how unsuccessful I am, or what's expected of me that I'm failing, I could never be as big a loser as the lead character! Jeremy Davies plays Raymond Aibelli, a promising first-year university student pressured into giving up a prestigious internship to care for his mother during the summer. Mom is Alberta Watson, a woman who is very sexy but incredibly needy, and not just because she's got a broken leg. Raymond's dad is away on a business trip, and Raymond rattles around the house trying to maintain a sense of himself while being crushed under the pressure of his forceful family members. We laugh at him as he fumbles his way through brushing the dog's teeth, his awkward attempts at a relationship with a young neighbour, and we start to feel the tension stretch itself out as he takes care of his mother.The director's commentary notes the "forced intimacy" of caring for an invalid, and I found that to be an apt description, as Raymond carries his mother to the washroom, helps her in and out of the shower, and smooths moisturizer on her legs. This turns into an awkward foreplay (eeyuw!), but the subject matter, while certainly a dark taboo and fantasy, replaces shock value with something much more subtle and complex. It's not a tale of incest so much as a complicated look at the way family interacts, and how the things an individual wants can get overlooked when having to look out for everyone else.The most notable thing about the movie is the acting on the part of the leads. Jeremy Davies, still relatively inexperienced at the time of the movie, plays the angst and frustration of the situation with both sensitivity and a slow-burning tension. Alberta Watson, who could have been hammy or shrewish in the part, instead captures a full range of emotions from embarrassment to manipulation to a passive-aggressive anger directed at her son, for being the reason she had to sacrifice her own dreams.As weird as your family is, be glad of them, and as badly off as you think you are, someone else has it worse.
centurycitykrw some people have a weird sense of humor, whoever found this movie funny needs mental help. the acting was horrible too the lines were so plainly said, it sounded like 3rd graders reading. and who ever thought up this movie was also very sick minded. some people just have very low standards for good movies such as this... please no. if anyone seriously thinks this movie is a masterpiece please go see a doctor i couldn't watch more than 30 minutes of it and i still don't get what the title has to do with the movie. and did i mention how bad the acting was, and the scenes were so badly shot it seriously looked like used my own camera and cut my own scenes.