Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: David MacKenzie
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Laura Linney, Sonia Rockwell, Maria Conchita Alonso, Sebastian Stan, Rachel Blanchard, Hart Bochner, Thomas Kijas
RunTime: 1 hr 27 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: R21 (Sexual Scenes)
Official Website: http://www.spread-themovie.com

Opening Day: 22 October 2009

Synopsis:

Spread tells the story a high-end lothario, Nikki (Ashton Kutcher), who has slept his way into a life of privilege. He shares his secrets with us as he hosts parties and beds scores of women, all while living it up at the Hollywood Hills home of a middle-aged female attorney, Samantha (Anne Heche). Everything is going well for Nikki until he meets a gorgeous waitress named Heather (Margarita Levieva), who, unbeknownst to him, is playing the same game that he is. Nikki and Heather find themselves sexually charged by a game of one-upsmanship that has them dining at fine restaurants and crashing posh parties, until the truth of their lives forces them to choose between love and money. 

Movie Review:

Ashton Kutcher scores with an older woman yet again after his very recent outing with Michelle Pfeiffer in Personal Effects. This round he goes head to head with Anne Heche (who was once famously linked to Ellen Degeneres). Kutcher plays a loathsome lothario who preys on women, young and older in hopes of scoring a night (or more) of passion but also to live off the woman for as long as he can. The movie opens with Kutcher’s character, Nikki leaving a house with his bags packed and straight to the club where he scouts for a potential target and within minutes, sets his sights on Samantha (Anne Heche).

Reluctant at first, Samantha eventually gives in to Nikki and this sets the story for the first half of the movie. Samantha grows to love having Nikki around and the two does eventually get to the point where they question what their relationship with each other is amidst copious amount of gratuitous sex between them. Despite nearly hitting forty, Heche shows off her fit body as does Kutcher with his body which will be to the delight of the ladies.

Nikki’s life takes a turn when at breakfast one morning, he is smitten by a new waitress at a café who refuses to succumb to Nikki’s naughty charms. Intrigued by this, he pursues her and tries to win her over and in return, leaving Samantha in the lurch. From this juncture, the second half of the movie comes into play with Nikki having to decide whether he would be content with Samantha, the older woman who would provide him with everything or the waitress who would not give in easily to him and could possibly be hiding secrets.

Kutcher seems to enjoy playing the character, romancing one girl after another (who wouldn’t relish having that role I wonder) as he tried to get the most out of his circumstances. However, it was not all play as he also had challenging scenes which required him to emote. Though Kutcher is not the first name that comes to mind when one needs a serious actor, he has been building up a stronger repertoire since his Dude Where’s My Car? days. Anne Heche is also another name that does not quickly come to mind when one thinks of a hot older actress but she does a fair job on this movie.

There are several odd moments in the movie that somehow is never fully explained and one wonders how it fits into the whole scheme of things exactly. One of the scenes would be when Samantha requested that Nikki drive her to the hospital and later we discover she had a surgery after which it was never mentioned of again. Scenes like this feels like fillers for a movie that is already quite short in length.

Director David McKenzie is clear on one thing though. Spread is far from being a romantic comedy with situations that seem pretty real especially when two individuals are involved in bouts of casual sex and complicated relationships. The movie may depict situations that are real but the truth is that the movie itself is confused between wanting to be a melodrama or a social commentary.

Movie Rating:



(This generation’s American Gigolo, has sass but lacks class)

Review by Mohamad Shaifulbahri