Spaulding Gray, who died in 2004, was an actor and writer. What really made him famous however were his monologs.  His one man show Swimming to Cambodia, about Gray's experiances while filming the movie The Killing Fields, was filmed by Jonathan Demme and was a surprise hit.  Five years later Spaulding was back in front of the camera with another monolog, Monster in a Box, in which he discussed how fame treated him, working in LA, and writing an autobiographical novel.  This touching, funny, and interesting work has now been released on DVD for all of Gray's fans to enjoy.

As he relates at the beginning of the show, Spaulding was contracted to write a novel, entitled Impossible Vacation by a large publishing house.  He wrote and wrote, hundreds and hundreds of pages, well over 1000, and then he just couldn't write anymore.  This became the monster of the title.

With the success of his previous filmed monolog he was getting job offers left and right, and some of these were welcomed distractions.  In this monolog Spaulding discusses the problems he had writing his novel, the various things he did while putting off writing, and going into therapy.  (He did this because he tried to volunteer as on a suicide prevention hotline.  He was interviewed for a couple of hours and at the end of the discussion they told him that they thought he needed professional help.)  He discusses going to Nicaragua on a movie studio's dime, traveling to Russia, and how hard it is to find someone in LA that is not involved in the movie industry in some fashion.

While this isn't quite as good as Swimming to Cambodia, it is still very entertaining.  Spaulding Gray has a way of getting the audience on his side early in the show.  He manages to turn a one-man-performance into something that more resembles an intimate conversation, albeit one-sided.

Of course Spaulding is a bit of a unique character, and his foibles and personality quirks make for a lot of the comedy.  Some of the fun he pokes at himself for being slightly psychotic or afraid that he has AIDS was funny when the film was first released, but since he committed suicide in 2004 it seems more tragic.

Some of the most touching scenes in the film are when he talks about his mother's suicide and how he wasn't able to stop it.  Given his history, it's even more tragic that he saddled his own loved ones with the pain that his mother's suicide caused him.

Even knowing his tragic end, this is still a fun and enjoyable film.  Spaulding had a true gift for making just about anything he says interest and comic.

Audio:

The Dolby Digital stereo track fit the program well.  It's a monolog after all with only sparse background music, so there isn't much need for a wide dynamic range, fancy panning across the soundstage, or a powerful .1 track.  Gray's voice is clean, clear, and easy to hear.  There isn't any distortion, hiss, or other audio defects.  This disc sounds good, for what it is.

Video:

The widescreen anamorphic 1.66:1 image looked fine for this movie.  The bare stage, Spaulding sits behind a plain wooden desk with only a few props in the background for atmosphere, is mainly in shadows for most of the monolog.  The colors are a bit drab and the image just a tad soft, but that's not really a problem.  This is an average looking disc that fits the material well.

Extras:

Unfortunately there are no extras.

Final Thoughts:

This was a funny and touching monolog.  It has been years since I've seen it, and I had forgotten how talented Spaulding was.  He had a true gift for making even mundane things seem comical.  Though this isn't quite as good as Swimming to Cambodia, it's worth picking up.  Recommneded.