Spanking the Monkey

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Okay, I realise the title of this film probably raises a few eyebrows? Yes, it is a reference to masturbation. And no, it’s not a porno. Yes, you will see a teenage boy jerk off in the film, but there’s more going on here than that. There’s also a bit of incest and references to suicide. What the Hell? Hold on, hang in there, because although I was as shocked initially the first time I watched this film, there is more going on here than the crude title and unusual subject matter might suggest.

The wanker, I mean young guy, at the centre of this story is called Raymond, played exceptionally well by Jeremy Davies. This young actor, with the small, thin frame, but intense look had appeared in “Twister” in 1996, so when I recognised him on the cover of the video to “Spanking the Monkey” I was impressed to see him land his own starring role. Of course, 1998 would be the year to launch his career big time when Steven Spielberg cast him in the key role of Upham in “Saving Private Ryan”. But before then, this little jerk off, I mean teenager, was given the important but depressing job of looking after his house-bound mother while his dad, some kind of salesman, jets off for a month on business. He doesn’t seem to care that Raymond had just landed a internship with a major hospital in Washington D.C. due to start in two days. “We’ve all got to give a little back” his dad says, and then takes off leaving the care of his wife and her broken leg, to his son. Some dad he was. Wanker!

Being a student of medicine, Raymond is naturally inclined to care for people, give them medication, check in on them, etc. But when his first real patient is his own mum, the line between just helping around the house and being a servant is crossed. Down, depressed and doing nothing, Raymond’s mum watches daytime TV on her bed, and doesn’t eat much. She doesn’t say many words in the beginning, and Raymond quietly fights the frustration of it all the only way a teenage boy would – by masturbating! And the title of the film lives up to its name when we watch Raymond enter the bathroom, and start having a toss. The family dog won’t let him go into the bathroom alone, and scratches and sniffs at the door. Of course this breaks Raymond’s concentration, and his happy time comes to an end. 

As his mother starts to feel better and speak up more, we realise she’s as anal-retentive as her husband, and Raymond just can’t win with either parents. His mum is overbearing, nosy and tries to undermine Raymond at every turn, setting him up to have a go at him because of his easy going nature. So Raymond’s only other escape from the family home of horrors, is to take the dog for long walks. It’s on these walks he bumps into the young and friendly girl Toni, a senior at the local high school who recognises Raymond and admires the fact he has done well academically. Being naturally reserved, Raymond doesn’t open up to this girl straight away, but her optimistic attitude starts to win him over, and her flirting is a nice distraction for Raymond from the chore of tending to his mothers every need.

The other unusual plot development in this film is the relationship between Raymond and his mother. When watching this film for just the second time recently, I wondered if the writer of the film wanted to tell a story about a boy and his mother having an intimate relationship, or if it was more a case of creating dysfunctional and troubled characters from one family, and letting them determine where the story went. Either way, you watch this film well knowing that the attraction Raymond starts to feel towards his mother, and the role she takes on - which is more like a wife than a mother – strangely makes sense, because the characters ring true and the performances are good. Not that any of that justifies the fact this story is about incest at it’s core, but I found myself just accepting what it was and intrigued to see where it all went.

Aside from the awkwardness of the movie, there’s also a common coming of age story at the root of it all. Raymond is a young guy who wants to escape the small town he grew up in. He’s smart, but surrounded by idiots. And he’s caught in the middle of his parents, who won’t even give each other the time of day. Spanking the Monkey is about teen angst, and the quiet achievers fed up with not getting the chance to make some noise over the loud, obnoxious people around them. Eventually, the situation gets too much for Raymond, and he decides it’s time to get out of the town, and the grip of his manipulative mother, any way he can.

This movie leaves its own weird impression on you. Not that you will feel weird for watching a film that’s basically about a boy and his mother having sex, but it has it’s own surreal appeal, and overall is well made, well written and very well acted. Calling the shots on his feature film debut was David O. Russel, who would later direct the much loved film “Silver Lining’s Playbook”. I guess you could say Spanking the Monkey was his early calling card of directing films about troubled characters who make connections under the strangest of circumstances. 


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