Sure, Spanking the Monkey looks like it belongs on the “indie” shelf next to Clerks, Glory Daze or Kicking and Screaming. It gives off those flannel-covered low-budget slacker vibes with a touch of post-collegiate angst. Maybe it’s a little darker, and maybe it’s a little more risqué given the title…
This looked like my kinda cuppa java.
So I rented it thinking it was another comedy about mopey dudes making bad decisions. What I got was a film that took awkward family dynamics to a place so uncomfortable that it made me feel like I needed to get off the couch and touch some grass, maybe look up at the sky and watch some clouds.
This was pre-Three Kings, pre-Silver Linings David O. Russell, one of Hollywood’s more notorious execrates. His debut was rough, fusty, and very much bent on testing how uncomfortable he could make an audience without losing them entirely. And the answer was: a lot.
The soundtrack cuts by Morphine are stellar though. But this is a movie that stays with you, not because of the craftsmanship, the story or the performances – it’s because you feel weird for days afterwards. -Pop