8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 5, 1994 'Spanking' doesn't monkey around * By ALEXANDRA TWIN Drawing on a twisted, cryptic fan- tasy of the American suburban ideal gone very very wrong, writer-director David O. Russell has managed, in his first feature film, to create something of occasional, subtle brilliance and something of a monster. Although named after a masturba- tory nickname, "Spanking the Mon- Spanking the Monkey Written and Directed by David 0. Russell 'Owith Jeremy .Davies, Alberta Watson. key" is not about the act itself, but the sexual frustration surrounding it. Origi- nally titled "Swelter," the film takes place in the dead of summer, in Any- where, America, with a 19-year-old protagonist who can't get out of his house, let alone get laid. Ray Aibelli (Jeremy Davies) ar- rives home from his first year of col- lege to discover that his mother's bro- ken ankle and father's general negli- gence will keep him away from his hard-to-get internship and very near his mother. He is annoyed, pissed-off, bored and mostly overwhelmed by the breadth of the responsibility suddenly heaped upon his skinny shoulders. His father, Tom (Benjamin Hendrickson), is a traveling salesman, peddling self-help books and question- able moral values. He picks his son up from school, hands him the keys to the car that is only to be used in emergen- cies, tells him "brush the dog's teeth" and "tough luck about your internship" and then hops aboard a plane to who knows where. Left alone with his mother and her serious depression, Ray is torn between wanting to be the good son and wanting to be a normal, obnoxious 19-year old who does not spend so much intimate time with mom. As surrogate nurse and constant companion, he does not have much choice. His relationship with Toni (Carla Gallo), a high-school girl down the road provides some relief but not enough. She is just too young and inex- perienced to understand his situation. Even his old school buddies seem child- ish, infinitely distant from anything meaningful to him now. He is over- burdened, consumed, sweltered by his mother's demands and the dire lack of any real outlet. As angst-ridden and turbulent as all of this sounds, the film is quite funny, treating sexual and emotional frustra- tion with the same kind of on-target, dark humor that "Heathers" did with suicide. While more murky and in- volved than that film, "Spanking" is as likely to leave you giggling as wincing. Although wince you will. Without giving away the film's big "secret," one that is as upsetting, although argu- ably more predictable than that of "The Crying Game," it is safe to say that Russell has truly exhumed the ultimate family nightmare. Playing on the un- derlying selfishness and over-involve- ment of upper-middle-class, suburban parents, Russell has torn a hole in the status quo, shoved in a funhouse's dis- torted mirror and forced us to watch and listen. Considering that it was made on a shoestring budget, filmed with short ends of other movies' film stock left- overs and a bunch of non-union actors, to state that the film is an accomplish- ment is unnecessary. Like the majority of quality independent films, the genu- ine excellence of the execution (led, in this case, by Russell and Davies' ex- traordinary, intricate performance) is almost less impressive than the fact that the film got made at all. Yet it did. And whether it frustrates or fascinates, or does both, as the case may be, there is an argument to be made that this is the most accurate, if disturbing, portrayal of the so-called young American experience to have emerged-in a long while. Forget "Real- ity Bites," this is the real stuff, messy, neurotic and confusing. SPANKING THE MONKEY is playing at the State Theater. RECORDS Continued from page 5 sition from one song to another is so smooth so as to be completely unrec- ognizable. In short, this is one CD that need never leave your CD player. Jungle music is the music ofthosein the know in London and it is time you wised up and found out why. Even if you know from Jungle, this album will open your eyes to new options and experiences. - Ben Ewe= M.C. Solaar Prose Combat Cohiba/Island The French hip-hop community is now officially in full effect. After a number of little-known efforts from Northwestern College of Chiropractic is now accepting applications for its next three entering classes. (April 1995, September 1995, January 1996) General requirements at time of entry include: + At least 2-3 years of undergraduate college in a health science or basic science degree program. (Inquire for a complete list of specific requirements.) - A minimum G.P.A. of 2.5. (A more competitive G.P.A. is favored.) " A personal interest in a career as a primary care physician. ° Northwestern College of Chiropractic offers a rigorous four year pr:fessional education. Our focus on science, diagnosis, chiropractic methods, patient care and research provides our graduates with the tools they need to work as primary care physicians in the health care environment. NWCC is fully accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Council on Chiropractic Education. Call: 1-800-888-4777 or 888-4777' Write: Director of Admissions We invite you to join us at CA R E E R 2501 West 84th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55431 Cail to make a reservation the likes of Lionel D. and Soon E MC, M.C. Solaar has arrived with his first American release. After the multi-plati- num "Que Seme Le Vent Recolte Le Tempo" (He Who Sows the The Wind Shall ReapThe Tempo) Solaar ispoised to make an impact on the international hip-hop scene. Get out your French/English dic- tionaries hip-hop fans, 'cause "Prose Combat" is an album that will make you anxious to learn a new language. Not understanding a single word the man says (except "Superstarr"), this album is still a landmark. The samples are absolutely, positively some of the best this year - funky, melodic, bass filled, clean, rough (with a touch of French smooth) andjustplain slammin'. Lyrically, nothing sounds forced at all, Solaar has found a flow that far sur- passes "Que Seme." If you understand French this may be a classic, if not just enjoy the music. -Dustin Howes qie qUniversit of Michigan Pre-Med Club MASS MEETING Piursay, October 6 6:30 TM Un~ion Ballroom For more info: Priya 213-0034 or Nick 764-4776 Naomi Wolf is at the forefront of the new wave of feminists in America. Who's afraid of Wolte Renowned feminist causes controversy and admiration By KIRK MILLER Give credit to Naomi Wolf for one thing; she's extremely controversial. Ever since the 1993 publishing of "Fire With Fire," her call for a new definition of feminism, she has trig- gered heavy debate between feminist leaders and within the mass media. In the space of one week the "New York Times" hailed her as both "What Su- san B. Anthony was to the first wave of the women's movement, and Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem were to the second, Ms. Wolf may be to the third," and as "contradictory... [mak- ing] dubious oversimplifications." Karlyn Keene Bowman of the Ameri- can Enterprise Institute simply said she was "wrong." However, Wolf has a few barbs of her own; she is no fan of Camille Paglia or many other women's movement leaders, and criti- cizes them frequently in her new book. Wolf argues for the end of "victim feminism" and the beginning of a "nower feminism" that "hates sexism without hating men." So those who oppose abortion or lesbian rights would not shunned, but welcomed as a different voice with a common goal. To achieve this goal of equal repre- sentation and access to health, job opportunities and money, she hopes women will band together, to finan- cially support political candidates, something she thinks they haven't been doing enough. Now that she is a staple of Women's Studies classes and a best- selling author, she is out to spread her gospel. "It is little wonder that so many women aren't sure what femi- nism means," she writes. "They rarely get to hear it articulated, let alone tested and defended in a free forum." au t } f H!. ., - 1 i Intel Corporation Is Comig To Campus Naomi Wolf will be speaking 7:3 Thursday in the Shorling Audito- rium in the School of Education. The event is cosponsored by the Women's Studies Program and Borders. al Put the paper chase behind you... * Open House Tuesday, October 4th 5:00 P.M. Michigan League Kalamazoo Room * Office Hours Wednesday, October 5th Finish all your reports with us! 6 6 c OY 9W Report Binding 1 or loss Veo, Spiral or Glue 65# covers included Do lar Blrl 611 Church Street 10:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. Phone 66M EPJ~k 4302800 Michigan Business School Paton Accounting Center Room 2011 We look forward to speaking with math, economics and statistics I U I The Unive rsity of Michigan HOCKEY _ BAND m