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Monster in a Box

Play trailer Poster for Monster in a Box PG-13 1991 1h 28m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 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."

Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 10/05/2019
...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. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
3/4
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. Go to Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 11/14/2007
3/5
Christopher Null Filmcritic.com 01/04/2007
4.5/5
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 06/13/2005
3/5
Joshua Tanzer Offoffoff 06/01/2004
4/5
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Audience Reviews

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03/16/2014 Another great Spalding Gray monologue presented as a film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED See more 01/27/2012 Too much Spalding Gray. Considering this is a movie about Spalding Gray, perhaps this should not come as any great shock. See more 03/07/2011 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. See more 10/03/2010 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. See more 08/26/2010 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. See more 04/18/2010 Often hilarious, often cynical, but always thoughtful and thought-provoking monologue from lovable, neurotic, paranoid storyteller extraordinaire Spalding Gray See more Read all reviews
Monster in a Box

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Cast & Crew

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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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Monster in a Box

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Movie Info

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
Producer
Jon Blair
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