Gray's Anatomy (1996)

After doctors inform him that an eye affliction will require risky surgery, monologist Spalding Gray recounts his various pursuits for alternative medicine to avoid the doctor's scalpel.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Spalding Gray (monologue), Renée Shafransky (monologue)

Stars:

Spalding Gray, Mike McLaughlin, Melissa Robertson

Cast

Cast overview:
Spalding Gray	...	Self
Mike McLaughlin	...	Self
Melissa Robertson	...	Self
Alvin Henry	...	Self
Alyne Hargroder	...	Self
Buddy Carr	...	Self
Gerry Urso	...	Self
Chris Simms	...	Self
Tommy Staub	...	Self
Kirk A. Patrick Jr.	...	Self

Storyline

After doctors inform him that an eye affliction will require risky surgery, monologist Spalding Gray recounts his various pursuits for alternative medicine to avoid the doctor's scalpel.

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Plot Keywords:

eye | alternative medicine | one man show | storytelling | interview | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #618.

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Goofs

The earpieces of the stethoscopes are supposed to have the slant toward the front because that is the way the ear canal in the skull runs. Every scene shows them just obscuring sound using the stethoscope with the slant toward the back of the user's head. Its an error against anatomy.

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Quotes

Spalding Gray: "But is there anything that can be done for the left eye, any corrective measures?" "Yes, I think so. I recommend a little macular scraping." As soon as I heard that word "scraping," I knew I wanted a second, third and fourth opinion.

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits there's a brief additional scene featuring an ophthalmologist.

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Connections

References Swimming to Cambodia (1987)

User Reviews

A one-man bundle of neuroses

But that's why some people love Spalding Gray. And although I do not fall into that category, per se, I was very entertained by this 80-minute monologue -- told in ranting New Yorker mannerisms that are nonetheless fairly endearing -- about what Gray should do about his macular pucker.

The macular pucker, we learn in great detail, is an eye condition that must ultimately be "scraped" in order to restore normal vision. Gray, a born Christian Scientist and an enduring doctor-phobe, walks around New York City, tearing his hair out while choosing among the opinions of an array of quacks who weigh in on the issue. (Or, at least, he describes himself doing this -- the whole film is a series of closeups of Gray in a studio, with various visual stimuli applied to him, through the wonderful direction of the visionary Steven Soderbergh). Through the course of the narrative he describes near-slapstick visits to a Native American sweat lodge, a Phillipino doctor who is the Elvis of healers, a quirky New Jersey "dietary opthalmologist" and several others. It's all told with great storytelling verve, and occasional moments of poignancy.

The film also consists of a series of short documentary interviews with about 8 survivors of eye trauma, who each nearly lost (or in some cases did) vision in stomach-churning ways. Their occasional thoughts on the healing process are very fascinating.

Because of its odd structural format, the one-man narrative film threatens to fall by the wayside. Not that it has ever been a particularly popular form, but its appeal is perhaps dwindling further as our attention spans, and ability to sit through prolonged stories, deteriorate. However, Gray, with a boost from Soderbergh, gives the genre a good name -- and hope

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gray's Anatomy

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$350,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,690, 23 March 1997

Gross USA:

$29,090

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,090

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Independent Film Channel (IFC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1