Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageSpread (2009)
Director: David Mackenzie
Movie review
From Time Out London
Of all the pleasures 2010 might offer, few will be guiltier than ‘Spread’. Shallow, melodramatic, pretentious and wildly misguided, it’s also ambitious, entertaining and rather funny. Ashton Kutcher (right) plays Nikki, a vapid pretty boy (typecasting alert!) who uses his studly charms to gain favours from rich LA women. Until – shock horror – he falls in love with Margarita Levieva’s stunning but brittle waitress, who may be employing a few manipulative tricks of her own.British director David Mackenzie (‘Hallam Foe’) desperately wants ‘Spread’ to be the modern equivalent of Hal Ashby’s ‘Shampoo’: a searing indictment of Hollywood superficiality and American avarice. The opening is promising – crisply photographed, sharply written and unashamedly sexual. Nikki is a memorably voracious vulture, the perfect fit for Kutcher’s brash public persona. That is, until the script suddenly demands that we empathise with him: our hero’s fall from grace provokes scorn rather than sympathy, though there’s still a fair amount of vindictive enjoyment to be had on the way down.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 2054: December 31 – January 6, 2010
Cast & crew
Director: David Mackenzie
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Sebastian Stan, Sonia Rockwell, Maria Conchita Alonso, Hart Bochner full cast
Genre(s): Drama
Rated: 18
Duration: 97 mins
UK Release: Jan 1 2010
US Release: Aug 21 2009
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now