Spanking The Monkey

David O Russell, USA 1994, 98 minutes

Winner of the Audience Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, writer/director David O. Russell's debut feature is a very black comedy.

College medical student Ray arrives home at the start of the summer holiday. He anticipates spending only a few days there, before going to take up a prestigious internship. But Ray's travelling salesman father leaves him to care for his sick mother, an attractive but neurotic woman who has broken her leg in a failed suicide attempt. Ray finds himself frustrated at every turn. He can't leave to take up the internship,he falls out with his friends, his mother malingers (making unreasonable demands on his attention and interfering when he tries to date a local high school student), and the family dog has an unerring ability to disturb Ray's peace when he's trying to quietly spank his monkey -­ US slang for having a wank.

Russell's film isn't as crude or dumb as its Beavis and Buttheadesque title might make it sound. Whilst there's obviously an element of contrivance and exaggeration about the combination of situations in the film, Russell manages to imbibe it all with a horrible plausibility. Equally Russel's inclusion and handling of the topic of incest manages admirably to stay just on the right side of tastefulness. The characters and the power games they play are convincingly depicted and a good eye for everyday detail is apparent. The performances from Jeremy Davies as Ray, and Alberta Watson as his mother are also excellent.

Russell followed up Spanking the Monkey with Flirting with Disaster, also about dysfunctional families though more of a straight comedy farce than its predecessor.

Altogether an impressive debut by director David O. Russell.

Review by Keith H Brown
Taken from EUFS Programme 1997-98