RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Spanking the Monkey
Spanking the Monkey

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Spanking the Monkey (1994)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
90 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:20

Fresh:18

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.1/10

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: The debut feature from writer-director David O. Russell tells the darkly comic story of a young pre-med student's nearly unbearable summer vacation. When Ray Aibelli's promiscuous father orders him... The debut feature from writer-director David O. Russell tells the darkly comic story of a young pre-med student's nearly unbearable summer vacation. When Ray Aibelli's promiscuous father orders him to stay home for the summer and care for his mother, who recently broke her leg, he misses out on an incredibly important internship. As Ray struggles with the realization that he's wasting his summer doing nothing at home, he must contend with an endless string of seemingly insurmountable circumstances, including a failed brief relationship with a young high school student. Things reach their boiling point when Ray and his mother get drunk one night, leading to an incestuous encounter that pushes him over the edge. Humiliated, depressed, and downtrodden, Ray decides to commit suicide to end his troubles forever. Russell's racy story walks a tightrope between deep psychological drama and taboo comedy, resulting in a highly original tone that keeps SPANKING THE MONKEY from buckling under the pressure. Featuring a standout performance by Davies, as well as Watson, who recalls Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson in THE GRADUATE, this is one of the 1990's most auspicious directorial debuts. [More]

Starring: Jeremy Davies, Alberta Watson, Carla Gallo, Benjamin Hendrickson

Starring: Jeremy Davies, Alberta Watson, Carla Gallo, Benjamin Hendrickson

Director: David O. Russell

Director: David O. Russell

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Spanking the Monkey

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Edinburgh U Film Society | comment Comment
01/01/00
Keith H. Brown
Keith H. Brown
Edinburgh U Film Society
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/20/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A bitingly funny tale of frustrated sexuality.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/09/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

David O. Russell's gleefully subversive family saga offers a twisted coming of age tale that begins realistically before pushing its characters over rhe edge into lunacy.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
01/13/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Plays as a bad middle-class suburban joke that hits the right note between satire and being a shocker.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/10/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A very intriguing independent movie with stong performances.

comment Comment
10/10/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/13/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Caryn James
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/10/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/22/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
09/02/03
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Leonard Schwarz
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly

Excellent art-house dark comedy with a strange, incestuous theme.

comment Comment
03/19/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/24/03
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

An outrageous, assured debut from a talented new director.

comment Comment
01/16/03
Blake Davis
Blake Davis
KFOR Channel 4 News

Quirky is too mild a word for it.

comment Comment
11/05/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
01/09/02
Movieline
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
14% 14% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
15
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
28
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
1
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
141
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
54
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
  • Tron Legacy Duo Heading into The Black Hole Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • First Iron Man 2 Poster Released Source: Yahoo! Movies
80
  • Ryan Reynolds Talks Green Lantern Source: MTV
16
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
99
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
96
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
91
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
38
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
35
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
27
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
20
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Spanking the Monkey at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.