Customer Reviews

Monster in a Box: The Movie

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There was nobody else like Spalding Gray. If you're curious about his work (and you should be), you should start by watching either "Swimming to Cambodia" or this film. They are worth owning, because you will probably want to watch them again and again and show them to your friends. "Monster in a Box" is my favorite. Watching it again recently, I realized that Gray could've been one of the greatest comedians of all time, and he certainly would've earned more money and fame as a comedian, yet it would've been a waste of his talents. He had too much to say about life to confine himself like that. And so he used that rarest of art forms, the autobiographical monologue.

"Monster in a Box" is about a lot of things. It's about the difficulty of writing a long work of prose. (The "Monster" in the title is the manuscript for a book he was working on, which I have read, by the way. The finished work is very good, although not as long as the manuscript.) It's about the film industry. It's about a fact-finding mission to Nicaraugua in the 80s. It's about Gray's fears about his own physical and mental health. It's about a trip to Russia for screenings of "Swimming to Cambodia." It's about Gray's role in a Broadway production of "Our Town." And much more.

But a summary of the content does not capture what this monologue is really about. Gray was an intense person who was trying his best to be true to his nature without being completely miserable. I saw him perform "It's a Slippery Slope" in Eugene, Oregon, in 1995 or' 96, and he was fantastic. He walked out onto the stage, sat down at a table with a glass of water, and talked for about 90 minutes. The audience was riveted. I wish a film version of that monologue was available. Several months later, I was living in Tucson, Arizona, and Gray came to town. He was still doing "Slippery Slope," but the following evening there was a showing of the film version of "Monster in a Box" in which Gray was available afterwards to answer questions from the audience. As I recall, he was humble, entertaining, and funny, and he did not dodge the questions even though some of them were quite personal. I feel lucky to have seen him.

The film version of "Monster in a Box," like his other filmed monologues, has been jazzed up somewhat with music and special effects, which is unnecessary but not too intrusive. I believe this monologue was his career peak. The next one, "Gray's Anatomy," is darker and not as funny, although still well worth seeing. It was very sad to hear of Gray's eventual suicide, but it's a glass half-empty, glass half-full scenario. Mostly I am thankful that he was able to share his experiences so freely with others, so that we could have some laughs and be the wiser for it.

Monster in a Box is another film version of one of Spaulding Gray's monologues, taped live at the Performing Garage, the home of The Wooster Group in New York City. The film captures the feel of the live performance and heightens it with music and close-ups. The "monster" in the box is an autobiography that Mr. Gray has been trying to work on concerning the death of his mother. The monologue details the obstacles, blocks, and epiphinal moments in trying to pen his tome. The monologue also contains many anecdotes about what happened to his life after the success of his first movie, Swimming to Cambodia. It also covers his adventures in Hollywood and his mixed emotions about being the Stage Manager in Thorton Wilder's Our Town at Lincoln Center. Gray is a story teller of rare talent. He's able to probe so far into the complexity of his own life that an audience feels compelled and, ultimately, empathetic. If you enjoyed Swimming to Cambodia or just a good story, Monster in a Box is a great film to see.

What a relief. Somebody intelligent on film. No explosions, no car chases. And I was spellbound from start to finish, and laughed so hard I thought my bad eye would pop out. Highly recommended as an antidote to Pokemon and South Park.

Only this guy can do this stuff. It's got hints of performance art but essentially he's just an old fashioned story teller telling modern, intelligent and very funny stories.

I recently viewed this movie on IFC (cable). It was the next show after one I'd just finished watching, and if I'd know before hand that the whole thing was a monologue, I probably would never have watched. From the first minute of the performance, I was glued to my seat. Unlike myself, if you're purchasing the movie, you'll have the "pause" option on your remote if you need to break, but you'll never want to use it. There will be at least one of his stories that everyone has experienced at one time or another, and can relate and laugh hysterically. Through the whole performance, right up to the end, you want more. The only disappointment is that it had to end. Very highly recommend to anyone with an intelligent sense of humor.

Brilliant, hilarious, my all-time favroite Spalding Gray work. When can we have it on DVD?

I just saw this piece screened at a local film festival. I'm not ashamed to say I was blown away! It felt like I was sitting with Spalding and a few close friends just listening to him tell his story.
The darkness of the piece is balanced by laugh out loud humor and human insights.
This is a must see!

This film seems to mean so much more now that poor Spaulding is either dead or... he certainly is missing. The seamless transitions are classic in this 90 minute trail through the incredible mind of Mr. Gray. His HBO excursions, Stage Manager of 'Our Town,' going with his confidante Renee on the fact finding mission to Nicaragua while trying so hard not to let anyone know that he is a spy, but not for the CIA!! Do I have AIDS? etc. This is the ultimate monologue. You'll love his New England demeanor.

I agree with a previous reviewer that the directing (lighting, music and camera angles) are a little more obtrusive in this than they were in Swimming to Cambodia but they settle down toward the middle and become hardly noticeable (as they should be).

Mr. Gray gives a fantastic performance again with what seems to me to be a very personal saga. It is a story within a story within a story. He centers around the writing of this novel which becomes "the monster". It is a fictional work that one eventually surmises is not fictional at all but a loosely based retelling of his relationship with his mother and her suicide while he was away and unable to intervene. Like I said - very personal. But there are all of these interruptions and these side trips - from a writer's retreatin New Hampshire to Los Angeles to South America to Russia to New York - each interesting and entertaining. And - somehow - they all end up back up at some center point. The book? Yes, but no.

Check it out. You won't be sorry.

Without a doubt the best of the filmed versions of Spalding Gray's monologues. Perhaps it doesn't have the cultural importance or impact of "Swimming to Cambodia", but it's his most personal and open monologue.
Like Jonathan Demme's approach with "Swimming..." Nick Broomfield (the second best documentary film-maker after Errol Morris) simply attempts to recreate the affect of seeing Spalding's live performance (Steven Soderberg's "Gray's Anatomy" tried a different non-live, internalised-externalised, impressionistic approach which doesn't entirely work, and the HBO production of Terrors of Pleasure is only worth it to actually see the peformance) and it's the best way of presenting such a theatre piece; point the camera at the man and let him talk!!!!!
There are a few visual/stylistic moments - but they don't detract from the reason to see this masterpiece - Spalding himself.
On the surface the monologue is about SG not being able to write his book Impossible vacation (largely about his mother's suicide) - but the bigger picture is a self-portrait of an impending nervous breakdown and his fortunate avoidance of it.
There's wit and pathos to Gray's dialogue and performance, you'll be laughing and feel touched at the same time.
If you've never seen or read anything by him - watch this and you'll be hooked!!!