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.
"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.