Spanking the Monkey

Spanking the Monkey is a 1994 American black comedy film^[3] written and directed by David O. Russell. The title is a slang phrase for masturbation and is used in the film by one of the teenage characters. It was filmed in Pawling, New York.

Plot

Susan Aibelli, a married, lonely woman, suffers a leg injury at home just as her husband is about to leave on his job as a travelling salesman and her son, Raymond, is about to leave for the summer on a medical internship. Raymond is then forced to stay at home to take care of her as his father cannot. He eventually loses the internship. These troublesome events leave him emotionally confused as he and his mother are left alone together, and they develop an incestuous relationship.

Cast

• Jeremy Davies as Raymond "Ray" Aibelli
• Alberta Watson as Susan Aibelli
• Benjamin Hendrickson as Tom Aibelli
• Carla Gallo as Toni Peck
• Judette Jones as Aunt Helen
• Matthew Puckett as Nicky
• Zak Orth as Curtis
• Josh Philip Weinstein as Joel
• Judah Domke as Don
• Nancy Fields as Dr. Wilson

Music

Select tracks from Morphine's album Cure for Pain are used throughout the film, including "In Spite of Me" which plays over the end credits.

Reception

Spanking the Monkey was a box office success, grossing $1,359,736 on a $200,000 budget.^[2] It currently holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 22 critics.

The film won the Audience Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

References

External links

• Spanking the Monkey at the Internet Movie Database
• Spanking the Monkey at Box Office Mojo
• Spanking the Monkey at Rotten Tomatoes
• Spanking the Monkey at Metacritic
• Teatown Communications Group