Monster in a Box

PG-13

1991

1h 28m

Comedy

Drama

List

93%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

88%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Monologuist Spalding Gray talks about the great difficulties he experienced while attempting to write his first novel, a nearly 2,000-page autobiographical tome concerning the death of his mother. Among his many asides, Gray discusses his problems in dealing with the Hollywood film industry, recounts the trips he took around the world in order to avoid dealing with his writer's block and describes his ambivalence about acting as stage manager for a Broadway production of "Our Town."

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

...his powers as a writer and performer certainly hold one's attention. Incidentally, more than five dozen names appear in the credits of this one-man show.

Oct 5, 2019

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3/5

Jan 1, 2000

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Gray's Monster in a Box, like his earlier Swimming to Cambodia, is a filmed monologue augmented by music, subtle lighting changes, and what dramatic interest, suspense and humor he can create with the sound of his own voice.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 3/5

Nov 14, 2007

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Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 4, 2007

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 13, 2005

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Audience Member

Another great Spalding Gray monologue presented as a film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

Too much Spalding Gray. Considering this is a movie about Spalding Gray, perhaps this should not come as any great shock.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Audience Member

R.I.P. Spalding Gray. Nick Broomfield films tortured artists like nobody else. You know it's true. Gray's monologue + Laurie Anderson's very 1992 soundtrack is heartbreaking. I dare any serious fan of Spalding Gray's genius not to tear up a bit.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

115th Movie of 2010 (rewatch) Seriously one of my top five favorite films. I like to watch this movie every five or so years, so it always stays fresh. For me, Monster in a Box is the equivalent of comfort food in movie form.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Spalding Gray crafts a nice follow-up to SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA, and Nick Broomfield does a nice job serving the material by basically doing what Jonathan Demme did the first time.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Often hilarious, often cynical, but always thoughtful and thought-provoking monologue from lovable, neurotic, paranoid storyteller extraordinaire Spalding Gray

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Nick Broomfield

Director

Spalding Gray

Actor

Jon Blair

Producer

Michael Coulter

Cinematographer

Graham Hutchings

Film Editing

Laurie Anderson

Original Music

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Synopsis

Monologuist Spalding Gray talks about the great difficulties he experienced while attempting to write his first novel, a nearly 2,000-page autobiographical tome concerning the death of his mother. Among his many asides, Gray discusses his problems in dealing with the Hollywood film industry, recounts the trips he took around the world in order to avoid dealing with his writer's block and describes his ambivalence about acting as stage manager for a Broadway production of "Our Town."

Director: Nick Broomfield
Production Co: Channel Four Films
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Nov 28, 2006
Box Office (Gross USA): $299.5K
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround