Monster in a Box: The Movie
by Nick Broomfield
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DVD details
Actor: Spalding GrayDirector: Nick Broomfield
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-28
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Monster in a Box: The Movie
DVD Review: An American Original
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
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