Spanking the Monkey (1994)

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.

Raymond is a young pre-med student about to start a prestigious internship when he is forced to return home to look after his mother after she is immobilized with a broken leg. The physical contact required to care for his mother causes her and Raymond to become close to an uncomfortable degree and his relationship with the girl next door confuses him further.This is the most awkward film I've ever watched and I mean that in the best way possible. I was so uncomfortable – it was fantastic! I don't even know what to say about this film. It struck the right chords everywhere. It dealt with such a taboo and sensitive subject and managed to make it emotionally involving and funny at the same time (a very dark comedy).The performances were all great. Jeremy Davies in particular, he was instantly likable and sympathetic and expressed himself so well; subtly and loudly. Alberta Watson as the mother was great too. They had the strangest chemistry, there was never any sense of a typical mother/son relationship and that made it work extremely well.There were a couple of weak scenes, namely the scenes with his friends and the doctor scene also seemed to drag a little bit. But overall, it worked amazingly well, especially considering the topic. I read afterwards that it was made only on an $80,000 budget. I was seriously shocked, and I also sit in astonishment that this seems to be hardly seen and has such a low IMDb rating.This was an absolutely amazing film and the best film I've seen in a long time. Great performances, hilariously dark humour and yet very quietly emotional. Worth it just to be squirming in your chair whilst simultaneously having a fantastically good time.I never give films 10 after one viewing (and even then I've only given out 40 out of almost 3000 films I've seen), but this stuck with me for days (and even still, a month later) that I couldn't give it any other rating. A must-see film for those with an open mind.

Almost everyone is familiar with MILF. We just saw it recently in Superbad when Seth was drooling all over Evan's mom. "I am truly jealous you got to suck on those tits when you were a baby." But, having the hots for your best friend's mom is not the same as having the hots for your own mom.Ray (Jeremy Davies) is planning on a quick visit on his way to a choice internship after his first years of college. Dear old dad (Benjamin Hendrickson) screws him so he can get back on the road and he ends up taking care of his mom (Alberta Watson), who has a cast on her leg. That means being a support while she takes a shower, and rubbing cream on her dry feet and under the cast, and, well an alcohol fueled night leads to things that almost destroy him.He is trying to pursue a normal relationship with his next door neighbor (Carla Gallo), who gives a great performance herself, but the mom issue has traumatized him to the point where this isn't possible.His dealing with his problem is somewhat funny, but also very tragic until he finds a way out. There was some funny bits in the beginning before the tragedy, but the overriding theme of selfishness on the part of everyone reminds us that shite happens even when you make great plans.Jeremy Davies gives a great performance, and Alberta Watson really is one hot mom!

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.