Spun (2003)

You won't be disappointed!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

As Good As It Gets

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Spun is an action packed dark drug induced drama revolving around a creative and complex character base. The theme of the movie is addiction and paranoid reality of meth use in small town America.I really enjoyed the characters and cinematography. This was the best cast I have seen for a drug movie which includes the following:Jason Schwartzman as Ross John Leguizamo as Spider Mike Mena Suvari as Cookie Patrick Fugit as Frisbee Peter Stormare as Mullet Cop Alexis Arquette as Moustache Cop Deborah Harry as The "Neighbor" Eric Roberts as The Man Chloe Hunter as April Love Nicholas Gonzalez as Angel Brittany Murphy as Nikki Mickey Rourke as The Cook Charlotte Ayanna as AmyThanks!www.commachargers.com

Visuals and cast: 10/10 though.This movie is an unmitigated Hollywood rip-off of Guy Ritchie's first two movies "Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch". Only not anywhere near as good and engaging. A speed freak finds himself working as a chauffeur for a methamphetamine "cook", and mayhem ensues. The cast is outstanding, but gets in the way of the movie, because I kept thinking "Wow, Mickey Rourke's back" or "Wow, Billy Corgan did the music" which took me out of the movie. The director comes from music videos and it shows. The movie is like one long music video, glitzy but the story is lacking. A shame, really.

I'm pretty happy to admit that I probably didn't get the most out of Spun. Reading through reviews and IMDb message boards I've found people praising it over and over again for being the most realistic presentation of meth-addicts' life-style ever put on film. That's quite possibly the case; never having taken meth I have no idea. Indeed, it seems that every glaring review comes from someone who has a history with the drug, so I assume the portrayal is accurate. As it is, I can only review Spun based on what I got out of it - which is an interesting film, but definitely not a masterpiece.By itself, Spun has its merits. It's an atmospheric piece, with excellent cinematography and editing; Although it relies too heavily on editing tricks, and almost everything it does was done before in similar ways in more memorable drug-films like Requiem for a Dream, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and Dazed & Confused. It managed to bring in an impressive collection of actors, both for the leads and for cameos - Jason Schwartzman, Patrick Fugit, Mena Suvari, John Leguizamo and Peter Stormare in one film are a indie-loving hipster's wet dream - and they all do an excellent job, but their characters aren't very interesting. The film manages to convey the idea that methheads are real people with real emotions, but it hammers that idea into the viewer's head over and over again without saying much else.To explain - what Spun lacks, for me, isn't plot per se. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas or Trainspotting didn't have much of a plot either. But Spun has no depth or heart either. It puts the viewer into the meth experience, it shocks and unnerves - as it should - but it's not enough to make us care. The regular explanation that it's a film for methheads that only methheads will enjoy may have truth to it, but if so its value as a film is questionable. If it's meant to convey an anti-drug message, it's preaching to the choir - because only former meth addicts will know how realistic and thus how tragic it is, while to the rest of us it looks like a zany, trashy, sexy comedy that enjoys the drugs almost as often as it derides them.A six-star rating usually relates to a mediocre or forgettable movie - Spun is anything but. It's also not a bad movie. It's interesting and unusual, but it misses its mark for most of the audience, and it's not original or interesting enough to be worth watching simply as a visual piece. It's funny enough and has enough good acting - Mickey Rourke is of particular note, in the role that may have been the harbinger of his current comeback - but in the end it'll mostly leave you confused.

I would like to know that song in the video on the DVD. It doesn't say who it's by. I'm guessing Los Palmas? That's the sign it shows in the beginning of the song. I really like it and would like to know more of the artist. Kinda like Mazzy Star, very melancholy but drugged up. Great performances, Mickey is really an underrated actor. I have to add more, so I love music, and I think Mr. Ackerland should really listen to the band TOOL. If he doesn't already, he'll find a lot of drama and vagueness in the song's. It would be great for a movie and or plot of such messed up, drugged up people in this great free world of ours. later, email me @ [email protected] if you know the group name,thanks