Redwarmin
This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
ReaderKenka
Let's be realistic.
Kodie Bird
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
johner23
The mother was a lonely wife, the husband always far away and son was problematic and inexperienced with girls.Both alone in the house and get enough voltage situations arise for both and they feel attraction for each other. She was a beautiful/well charmed 50's years old lady and he was a young man.The incest itself was an "excuse", because there were problems between the characters in other parts of their lifes. I mean: mother and son already have emotional, sexual and social problems.When they got alone, experiencing all kind of tension between them, specially concerning about "sensual" ones, their needs speaks louder and they commit incest for their reliefs.The director knew well explore these topics: eroticism and family problems. Very nice movie.
kenjha
Uneven but engrossing black comedy about a medical student caring for his bed-ridden mother during the summer break and having their relationship take unexpected turns. Davies is very good as the frustrated and confused son and Watson is alluring as his sexually frustrated mother. The film works best when focusing on Ray's relationship with his parents; the parts dealing with Ray's friends are less interesting. The scenes where Ray's father tries to explain to him what is expected of him with regard to taking care of his mother and the family dog are funny, as are the ones with the dog interrupting Ray while he tries to engage in the title activity. The big moment between mother and son is handled discreetly. This is a fine early effort by director Russell.
Ponyboy Curtis
First off, I'd like to say I absolutely cannot wait until the December 6th release of Russell's masterpiece. This DVD release has been anticipated by viewers everywhere for way too long. It's finally here kids...A coming-of-age/ feminist/ incestuous/ misogynistic/ black comedy? Possibly all of the above, possibly only a few. There are three key players in this Solondzian dark comedy: the mother, the son, and the father. While son spends the summer tending for his severely underachieved (in the professional world) Ph.D. holding mother, he nearly misses his chance at an out of state medical internship while infidel father travels the country selling work-related training videotapes. Add a young teen down the road to question our protagonist's sexuality, accuse him of "being too rough" and a mother who stifles her son through critiquing his academic work and his sexual advances for also being "too rough," and you start to understand that Russel's film is essentially about power.The fact that mother and son engage in an incestuous tryst is predicated by his tenderness in caring for her bed-ridden body. There is talk of childhood "bath-time boners," and of course the vodka induced cheese throwing fiasco that precedes the actual act of incest. Incest, while expressed in sexual form, is about power. Mother attempts to exert power over her only child by seducing him, while her son believes that sleeping with his mother will in some ways kill the stranglehold she has on him. As a matter of fact, in one scene, he tries to have sex with her while strangling her. While the film is not ABOUT asphyxiation, there are certainly many players here who succeed in symbolically strangling the life out of everything that is "normal" about the nuclear family: masturbation, personal ambition, and marital fidelity to name a few...If you're looking for a film in the vein of something Solondz, you're in luck. If you want to get off to incest narratives, check your local adult bookstore. This film addresses incest in a darkly comical fashion, but never once attempts to arouse, or justify. "Spanking the Monkey," while superficially comical, examines relationships of power, control, and sexuality.
Adonja
Saw it on HBO2. I don't have anything to say except it's an awful movie. Don't rent it. Whoever is responsible for creating this trash should be banned from future movies. The movie is basically trying to get people to speculate on incest. It has nothing to do with the title, and I'm pretty sure most people don't think the way the characters do in this movie. Overall a very bad attempt to get the general public to accept the movie makers fetish. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, not even my enemies. It's filthy and disgusting and leaves you with a sick feeling when the movie is over. Please excuse me, I think I have to vomit.
