I had a miserable time watching "Spun," I really didn't like it. Those who know me know that I'm extremely anti-drug, and I don't like to associate with drug users, but that has nothing to do with me not liking this movie. Yeah, I hated "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," but I loved "Requiem for a Dream," as well as "Sid and Nancy." I also liked "Half Baked" and "Dazed and Confused" (although I don't consider marijuana to be a drug, which doesn't necessarily mean that I smoke it). The point I'm making is that even though I'm big time anti-drugs, it has nothing to do with whether or not I liked the movie, it's just that it wasn't a movie I enjoyed watching. I was bored the whole time. I sat there asking myself how it can be that a movie about speed freaks can move along so slowly.
Like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Spun" is a movie that doesn't go anywhere. It's a messy, scattershot movie that has no story, direction, or point. On the plus side, it also shares the few good things that "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" has, which is good acting and cool visuals. It's too bad that neither movie had a story that could keep my interest. I dunno, I'm sure there are some people who think both movies are excellent. Maybe these are two masterpieces, and I'm outta the loop! It's certainly possible. If I had to choose one that I like better, I'd probably have to go with "Spun." I hated both movies, but I gotta give credit to "Spun" for having full frontal nudity. I'm referring to female nudity, of course. Actually, there's some male nudity, too, for all the ladies (and gay dudes) out there.
I didn't like this movie, but the acting was awesome. The main character, "Ross," is played by Jason Schwartzman. You may remember him as the nerdy star of "Rushmore." He plays a very different role in this movie, and he's very good. John Leguizamo is also in the film, and although I don't usually like his acting, he's great as "Spider Mike." It's a pretty daring performance, and Leguizamo gives 110%. Brittany Murphy is also in the film, and it's good to see that she hasn't stopped playing freaks. In every movie she's in, she's either a slut, a lunatic, or an idiot. In "Spun," she's a little of all those things, as well as a junkie. Mena Suvari (the girl from "American Pie" and "American Beauty") is here, too, and this is the worst she's ever looked. My God, she looks disgusting! I commend her for being willing to look like complete shit, because she really does look nasty. And it's a pretty good performance, too. Patrick Fugit, the kid from "Almost Famous," is also in the movie. I didn't think he was very good in "Almost Famous," but he's gotten better. He looks pretty gross, too, by the way. Finally, there's Mickey Rourke, who plays "The Cook." Great casting and great acting. He's never looked sleazier. He just oozes greasy and smarmy. Perhaps he's getting typecast as these unsavory characters, but he plays them really well.
Horny guys will be pleased with Chloe Hunter. You see a LOT of her in this movie, and I'm not talking about screen time. You may not have heard the name, but if you've seen the poster for "American Beauty," you've at least seen her belly. Yep, that's Chloe Hunter's belly on the "American Beauty" poster. Don't worry, you see her belly in this movie, too. And then some. There's another sexy babe that you'll see in "Spun," former Miss Teen USA Charlotte Ayanna. Unfortunately, she's in the movie for only two minutes, and her clothes stay on. Don't worry, if you wanna see her naked, just rent the DVD for "Dancing at the Blue Iguana." She plays the rookie stripper.
"Spun" is the feature film directing debut for Jonas Åkerlund. He's known for his off-the-wall music videos, most notably the notorious (and brilliant) video for Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up." He does a lotta cool things visually in the movie, but it's way too long, way too slow, and it goes nowhere. Really, that's the fault of the writers, though. The screenplay was written by Will De Los Santos (this is his screenwriting debut... this screenplay is loosely based on three days of his life) & Creighton Vero (his debut, as well). I don't wanna totally rip on the script, because like I said, maybe some people out there think the movie is great. It didn't appeal to me, though. It's just not my thing.
Nope, I didn't like this movie, I didn't like it at all. Well, I guess that's not entirely true, because I liked the acting, I liked some of the cool visual stuff from director Jonas Åkerlund, and I got to see Chloe Hunter naked. It's not a total loss.
Scale of 1-10: 3