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In this comedic monologue, Spalding Gray talks about impulse-buying an old cabin in the woods and the various, constant upkeep required.

Spalding Gray: Terrors of Pleasure (1987)

I can&#39;t remember which I saw first, Terrors of Pleasure or Swimming to Cambodia. It was the late nineteen-eighties. At the time I was taping a lot from cable. Believe me, I could easily monopolize every VCR in the house with my taping schedule. It must have been a compulsion. At that time I was taping everything in SLP mode, not exactly producing the best picture quality. Today I envision a certain videotape in the bottom of a cardboard box, perhaps in the dark depths of a closet: my handwritten video label displaying multi-colored inks, the tiny script faded and almost illegible, boasting perhaps six hours of cable comedy shows. Towards the end of the disintegrated tape is Spalding Gray&#39;s Terrors of Pleasure. (I now have a quality copy, what a find!) Spalding had not a few brilliant collaborations, including this monologue directed by Thomas Schlamme. It must qualify as his &#39;lightest&#39; monologue. It&#39;s one of my favorites --- especially if I need &#39;lightness&#39; at a given time. I could easily relate to Spalding&#39;s desire to buy rural property --- and his desire to have a porch with a barbecue grill on it! I loved the telling of his &#39;drunken evening strolls&#39; through Krumville. Yes! The sounds of the woods breathing around him . . . the bears thrashing . . . the psychopaths coming . . . I thought that the direction and editing were brilliant. As Spalding quoted characters&#39; dialog, he voiced over them in the film clips. And who were these interesting character actors: who portrayed Johnny Delfrado, the florist from Queens; the perky/weird Jehovah&#39;s Witness ladies; various small-town handy-men and contractors bearing bad news? No credits are listed! It however all starts with the written word, and Spalding provided a lot to work with: his lyricism and depth, his lightness and darkness, the extraordinary and the mundane, told in a most honest, unassuming, humorous fashion. Now, excuse me, I have this wonderful Harry Belafonte tune in my head . . . &quot;House built on weak foundation will not stand oh no oh no . . .&quot; A.F. Waddell

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Spalding Gray: Terrors of Pleasure

Spalding Gray&#39;s monologues are comic genius!  This one is my favorite. Having had similar experiences to the ones he describes, I can relate to this.  The intonations he gives his characters while delivering this monologue are hilarious!  His timing is wonderful.  Although he can sometimes seem to be a bit manic, that is part of his charm.

User reviews

Spalding Gray: Terrors of Pleasure

The Pleasure of Spalding

funny!

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