Spread

I thought this movie to be a comedy, as it was labeled such, so I was sort of waiting for a movie to make me laugh. The movie "Spread", however, is not really a comedy, more like a drama. But it wasn't a bad movie at all.

The story was nice, and it was a story that you easily could get yourself into and follow it. The story was going forward at a brisk pace and you wanted to see where the story would take you. I like the aspects of human behavior and how we treat other people and how it was portrayed in the movie. The director managed to hit that one straight on the head.

The cast in the movie was good. Ashton Kutcher did a good work as the lead role of Nikki. He has that boyish charm to him, and that worked well in this particular movie. But, the one carrying the movie would be Anne Heche in the role of Samantha. She did a phenomenal job in that role. I am not usually a big fan of her, but in this movie she was brilliant. And the chemistry between her and Nikki was really well acted out in a believable and good manner. And Margarita Levieva, playing Heather, was also quite good, and this is the first time I have seen any of her work.

Now, what didn't really go well with me was all the sex scenes. Well, I know it was important for the movie, but I just found it a bit too much. There was too much focus on those scenes, and I found it a tad over the top. But hey, I wonder if the movie would have been the same had they left them out. So just a little heads up for those haven't' seen the movie yet, there is a lot of adult situations in the movie.

The movie did get around a couple of interesting questions along the way. And a movie that leaves stuff for afterthought is one of the better kind of movies, entertainment and debatable at the same time. However, for me, this movie is not the type of movie that has enough value for a second viewing. It is watched once, then bagged and tagged.

After reading a few reviews, I expected this movie to be a mildly pornographic rom-com. As the credits scrolled, however, I was surprised to find that this movie was not only well made and well casted, but the story behind well thought out too. Although some aspects of the story were clearly unreal (like the glamour and ease with which Ashton Kutcher picked up women), I thought that some things portrayed in Spread were rather accurate. One idea, which Nicky (Kutcher) mentions several times, is how people run to LA to pursue their dreams- but how the reality is that nothing is quite as magic as it seems. Most movies, having been made in Hollywood, would not necessarily incorporate this into the story. But this movie daringly features not only this but other controversial issues, and is therefore quite thought provoking. On the surface I can see why people thought the scenes of sexual nature were unnecessary, but really, the sex was part of the story. It was showing what Ashton Kutcher, who plays a gigolo, did to survive. And it showed how meaningless it all way for him. Overall I really enjoyed this film, and think that it carries a much deeper meaning than one would presume.

Ashton Kutcher is Nikki, a hot young stud, who moves to LA, and seems to be getting by on his looks. His next lover/date/host is Samantha (Ann Heche), who he picks up in a restaurant. Along the way, he spouts SO MANY rules on how to be a... gigolo. Is there a better word for what he does? Leech? Kept guy? When Nikki meets the chick from the coffee shop (Margarita Levieva), he wants his "cake". And to eat it too. Is that an old enough reference? But the girls are on to him. And his friends have had enough. Where's he going to sleep tonight? Kind of a different take on Shampoo, from 1975. It's okay. Nothing too groundbreaking. A lesson to others, i guess. One interesting note - we can see the LAX tower just getting under construction.. that's pretty cool! Directed by british David Mackenzie. Story by Jason Hall, Paul Kolsby.

While Spread certainly wasn't a popular film when it was released, it didn't fly by my eye and it caught my attention for some reason, and I had been wanting to see it for awhile. When I got to view it, I was actually pretty satisfied with what I saw. The movie itself is quite well done and though it's apathetic and dull around the edges, the main story is strong and effective. The acting from both Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche is great and believable, in my opinion, and though all the characters certainly weren't breathtakingly astonishing, they were actually well done enough to where I enjoyed them and I thought they were interesting and likable.

The real redeeming qualities this film has are an interesting plot, and Anne Heche & Ashton Kutcher. While the plot, as I've said, is a little tiresome, it never fails at being interesting and appealing. It pulled me in from the beginning because I got into Ashton Kutcher's character and I thought it kicked off to a very interesting start. Ashton Kutcher's character Nikki while being a bit tedious at times, as were most characters, was never really badly done and his and Anne Heche's character Samantha's chemistry together was amazing and their story is likable, and her character was probably my favorite because of the actress's portrayal, which leads me to another great aspect of this film; The performances.

Anne Heche was amazing as Samantha, and I really just found her performance genuinely likable and impressively delightful. Ashton Kutcher also did a pretty good job with Nikki and Margarita Levieva did alright with Heather, too, but the performances by and especially the chemistry between Heche and Kutcher was what I really enjoyed and for that I thought the first half of the film was stronger than the second half, which became kind of rushed and, how shall I say, dry, but still effective.

Nonetheless, this movie in my opinion is entertaining, interesting, well acted and it has a very poignant script. While it's certainly no masterpiece, and could've been done better in ways, it was still very satisfying and I enjoyed it. Not the best of 2009, and not one of the most popular, but it is a secret pleasure that I hope to get more people aware of.

Spread tries to be hollow, vacuous, shallow, and then tries to be more and cannot make the spread.

The story of the gigolo who wants more than possessions when he meets a girl who doesn't fall for his routine might be OK but the arc is seriously lacking in places and what we get is a jump start stop of a movie that takes us on a road to nothing.

Ashton's performance is fine but he cannot compete against the weak storyline: the dialog is actually passable but the plotting is kind of weak.

Yes this is a movie where woman have the power and about how times have changed for guys. And yes it's true, good looks alone won't cut it, but it is just passable as film.

If you like the actors or the theme you may enjoy this; we found it hovered uneasily between the disillusionment of the American dream and a redemption tale - which it ain't....