It's a business doing pleasure.
A sex comedy centered on a serial womanizer and his jilted lover.
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Runtime: 97 minutes
Rating: 6.2/10 (689 votes)
Release Date: 17 January 2009
Country: USA
Languages: English
Company: Barbarian Films
MPAA: Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity and language.
Director(s): David Mackenzie
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Producer(s):
Anthony Callie - executive producer
Jason Goldberg - producer
Ron Hartenbaum - executive producer
Aaron Kaufman - executive producer
Elliot Kaufman - associate producer
Paul Kolsby - executive producer
Douglas Kuber - executive producer
Ashton Kutcher - producer
John Limotte - executive producer
Mark Moran - line producer
Peter Morgan - producer
Karyn Murphy - associate producer
Myles Nestel - executive producer
Writer(s):
Jason Dean Hall - (screenplay) (as Jason Hall)
Jason Dean Hall - (story) (as Jason Hall) &
Paul Kolsby - (story)
Cast:
Ashton Kutcher - Nikki
Anne Heche - Samantha
Margarita Levieva - Heather
Sebastian Stan - Harry
Sonia Rockwell - Christina
Maria Conchita Alonso - Ingrid
Hart Bochner - Will
Thomas Kijas - Jason - 'Head Waiter'
Landon Ashworth - Prince Stelio's Guard
Shane Brolly - Prince Stelio
Music: John Swihart
Anthony Callie - executive producer
Jason Goldberg - producer
Ron Hartenbaum - executive producer
Aaron Kaufman - executive producer
Elliot Kaufman - associate producer
Paul Kolsby - executive producer
Douglas Kuber - executive producer
Ashton Kutcher - producer
John Limotte - executive producer
Mark Moran - line producer
Peter Morgan - producer
Karyn Murphy - associate producer
Myles Nestel - executive producer
Writer(s):
Jason Dean Hall - (screenplay) (as Jason Hall)
Jason Dean Hall - (story) (as Jason Hall) &
Paul Kolsby - (story)
Cast:
Ashton Kutcher - Nikki
Anne Heche - Samantha
Margarita Levieva - Heather
Sebastian Stan - Harry
Sonia Rockwell - Christina
Maria Conchita Alonso - Ingrid
Hart Bochner - Will
Thomas Kijas - Jason - 'Head Waiter'
Landon Ashworth - Prince Stelio's Guard
Shane Brolly - Prince Stelio
Music: John Swihart
Posted on: August 3, 2009
August 11th, 2009
I really enjoyed the movie despite the fact that it was advertised as"romantic comedy" with the title translated to Russian as "Babnik"(Womanizer). Yes, there are so much sex and "glamour" in the beginning;nevertheless, the real story begins afterwards – the one that is worthto see, and that is NOT a romantic comedy. The story of the closeddoors. The story of selling the expensive staff for nothing. The storyof the beginning and the end of love. "You are a dreamer, and it isscaring me", says the girl to Nicky, and this is so true. Nicky is theman without a plan, without friends, he survives because of theattractive appearance, that will not remain over time. That's why"Spread" is the real drama of dreamer's collision with the reality thathe tried to ignore so far.
The ending is not about happiness or tragedy – it's about bitterness,shame and folded 5-dollar note in the hand… And Nicky will return tothe house where he used to enjoy the life, but in the different rolenow, proving that the history is always repeating itself.
8 out of 10
August 13th, 2009
Within the first 5 minutes of opening, I thought Ashton really chosepoorly in accepting this role; he chose a role too close to what he isperceived as in real life. First and foremost in my mind, he's an exmodel hottie. Secondly, he has never seemed like the sharpest tool inthe shed based on the roles he's played. Thirdly, I wonder would he bewhere he "is" today without Demi? He saunters in, first scene, lookinglike a cross between a gay hairdresser and a wanna be edgy member ofGreen Day. He's talking smack about how beautiful he is, and how he'sridden on the coat tails of his charm and appearance and sexed his wayaround LA. Boy, I thought, I'm glad these tickets were free…
In the end, I was surprised that I was able to suspend disbelief andactually believe what his character was feeling, saying and doing, andNO, it wasn't because the role wasn't a stretch for him. He actually*acted*, so much so that I forgot who he was and that I wasn't supposedto think he was doing a good job! The story line has some extraneouscharacters that muddle and muck up the story, and some are not asdeveloped as could be, but all in all, for what it's intended for, it'sa good escape. It shouldn't be classified as a romantic comedy though,there is nothing romantic about it. It's about a man who moves fromSugar Momma to Sugar Momma, whoring himself out to the highest bidder.In the end, he doesn't find love- appropriately his unrequited lovechooses her own Sugar Daddy over him. If it were a true romanticcomedy, the two poor but in love people would forsake their desire tolive a lavish lifestyle with OPM and move into a refrigerator boxtogether, but alas, no, she turns him down.
In the end, I found it a little depressing, actually, but isn't thathow life really is? No happy ending here, and that made it actuallybetter than it would have been with a nice, tight, Hollywood as usualmovie wrapped up with a shiny, red bow.
As an aside, there's lot of eye candy for your viewing pleasure, notjust of Ashton romping around in bed naked, but plenty of hot women,too.
August 14th, 2009
I must have missed the boat somewhere.
In its opening moments, 'Spread' bills Ashton Kutcher as an object ofuncontrollable lust – he quickly and effortlessly beds the affluentcharacter portrayed by Anne Heche and then proceeds to make her hissugarmamma; in voice-over Kutcher play-by-plays the finer points of hispick-up artistry while screwing a bevy of other Los Angeles babes (manyof whom he is able to bang without fear of any reprisal, inexplicably,from Heche, who is confusingly low on self esteem – more about that ina minute). I got lost quickly in terms of comprehending how or whyKutcher, who prances around throughout the film looking like a campyhomosexual in suspenders and little earrings, is understood to be sucha smouldering sex symbol, and moreover, that I am just going to buyinto this conceit with a straight face. I doubt I was supposed to laughout loud during several awkwardly explicit sex scenes that proudlyadvertise Kutcher's O-face, but I did anyway.
The victims of this bizarre Kutcher adonis appropriation are the womenhe encounters. All of the girls he seduces during the first half of thefilm, especially Heche, come off as pathetic, thoughtless tramps – ifwe can't buy what the flick is selling about Ashton, what does that sayabout the girls he nails? The first time Heche catches him 'cheating'on her, we expect the crappola to hit the fan; instead, she getsaroused and has sex with him. Seriously? Their relationship is playedoff at points as some kind of torrid affair, but during a scene whereHeche tosses designer clothes at Kutcher and he looks on with what is(assumedly) supposed to be darkness and angst, we are pressed to wonderhow many takes it took for him to do it without cracking up.
Nevermind the derivative, unimaginative story and theall-too-predictable comeuppance moralizing that happens in the secondhalf. And I would be grateful if anyone can answer me about just whatin the hell is going on with any or all of the following: a sequencewhere Heche has Kutcher mysteriously drive her to the hospital for anovernight stay, later revealed to have been for vaginal reconstructivesurgery; an encounter Kutcher has with a former lay in a grocery store,midday, only to find out the girl is tanked and needs to pull over onthe drive home to throw up; and, once again, Kutcher's wardrobe,especially one scene where his suspenders and a black-and-white stripedshirt make him look like a street mime – is this 'style' consideredtrendy and hip in LA these days (and if so, god help us)? When Ashtonfinally hits bottom and resorts to selling off his Gucci clothes at apawnshop only to throw a hissy fit outside on the street – not sure howI was supposed to react to this (I laughed) – it really gets drivenhome that we are watching Kelso from That 70's Show try to 'act'… andit doesn't work. Maybe if Ashton Kutcher has actually been culturallyrelevant beyond Demi Moore jokes over the last few years, coming intothis film would possess some of the pre-requisite preparation for thestrange experience it turns out to be. Sadly, the end result is all tootragically similar to the degrading way the girls in the film come off:utterly pathetic.
August 27th, 2009
An American Gigolo for the 21st century, although without the '80'smorality and sense of excess. Spread is a heavy handed and patentlynasty ode to 21st century values of greed and excess. Demi Moore's toyboy Ashton Kutcher is perfectly cast here as Nikki, a handsome,vacuous, arrogant but impoverished stud who seduces wealthy, lonelyolder women and sponges off them while giving them an enjoyable sexualexperience. He is currently sharing the lavish Hollywood Hills mansionof 40ish lawyer Samantha (Anne Heche). But while she is away onbusiness he beds a number of younger more insatiable girls. But heremains emotionally detached, and never lets anyone get too close tohim. That changes when he meets Heather (Margarita Levieva), a waitresswho works in a coffee shop. But Heather is the female equivalent,coasting through life and living off the largesse of wealthy older men.But Heather is even more complicated than that. When Nikki falls hardfor her it is a relationship that will change his life. Spread is anundeniably handsome-looking production, but it is rather vapid andempty. We've been through that younger man/older woman vibe too manytimes in the past (Shampoo, Sunset Boulevard, etc) to be seduced by therather lacklustre version of the story served up here. Working withdirector David MacKenzie (Young Adam, etc), first time screenwriterJason Hill serves up a morality tale in which the narcissistic youngstud eventually gets his comeuppance. Kutcher may get by on his prettyboy looks but his performance is flat and he brings little depth to acharacter who is pretty shallow to begin with. There are oodles offlesh on display here, but the coldly staged sex scenes fail togenerate much heat.