Menu Cringe

The DVD menu for Spalding Gray's "Swimming to Cambodia" made me cringe. In a crude animation, Gray, who committed suicide in 2004 by jumping off the Staten Island Ferry and drowning, bobs and sinks between waves. The viewer can opt to play the movie or choose selected scenes while S.G. almost drowns. Even thinking about it now makes me wince. Granted, the DVD for this 1986 film was probably issued long before his death but still couldn't it be recalled or something. Thankfully, I quickly forgot that initial off-putting introduction. Gray's monologue on his adventures in Cambodia while filming "The Killing Fields" had me laughing out loud. (Rare if you're watching something alone.) As with "My Dinner with Andre," I never realized how much fun listening can be.