Spanking the Monkey Movie Review

This is a good guy's movie, which is not damning it with feint praise. It's just that guys who dig this movie do so with such passion that it's clearly primal for them in a way that it isn't for me. Spanking the Monkey put David O. Russell on the map as an indie filmmaker and made it easier for him to assemble a big-name cast for his next project, Flirting with Disaster. I'd like to think that Russell simply has a vivid imagination than to guess about the inspiration for this one-of-a-kind flick.

1994 (R) 99m/C Jeremy Davies, Alberta Watson, Benjamin Hendrickson, Carla Gallo, Matthew Puckett; D: David O. Russell; W: David O. Russell; C: Mike Mayers. Independent Spirit Awards ‘95: Best First Feature; Sundance Film Festival ‘94: Audience Award; Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards ‘95: Best Supporting Actress (Gallo), Debut Performance (Davies). VHS, LV