Conference bookie::movies

787.0. "Spanking the Monkey" by NETRIX::michaud (Richard Gere) Mon Mar 20 1995 21:23

	I could have sworn someone had a topic on this one posted around
	the time it was in theatres.  In any case .....

	Rented the movie "Spanking the Monkey" on video.  It's about a
	young man who I believed just finished his first year of
	undergraduate pre-med at MIT.  He goes back home for what he
	expects will only be a couple of days before he heads out to
	DC fill his spot as only one of 10 summer interns with the Surgeon
	General's office.  As soon as he gets home however his father has
	other plans for him.

	His father is a travelling salesman of some kind of videos and is
	headed out on a month long road trip.  His mother had recently
	broken her leg and is bed-ridden, and she also suffers from
	depression.  His father tells him he has to stay home for the
	month to take care of his mother.  His father also instructs him
	on the car of the father's dog, and also gives the son strict
	instructions on what he can use the fathers car for (going so far
	as to take down the odometer reading!).

	The character takes the dog on long walks as instructed, and on
	his first walk out with the dog he meets a young woman who will
	be a high school senior next school year.  There is some romance
	there, but there is also some romance between the mother and her
	son .......

	And the title refers to what the young man does when he visits
	the bathroom.

	A cute movie, some laughs (though the subject matter may disgust
	some), and worthwhile overall even though I didn't care for the
	ending .....

    
    very . . . odd movie.  We watched it last night and I'm still not
    entirely sure what I think of it.  Parts of it repulsed me, others had
    me laughing out loud.  The ending was pretty blatantly ambiguous, but
    that's not always a *bad* thing.  .0 gives a good synopsis - if you
    like bizzare movies ( Kim R., Sean L.? - you folks would like it ) then
    go rent it.
    
    					- Jimbo

    
    	No ... I've been typecast!!
    

    I agree with the comment on oddness. It felt somewhat like "What's
    Eating Gilbert Grape" with _more_ oddness layered on top.