Spun

Just as I wrote in the first line...this film is about drugs. It's hard to find a real plot in this film. It's just about people doing drugs, especially Speed (the word "Spun" means to be affected by Speed), and the their messed-up lives and everyday situations, seen through drug-affection. But while "Spun" doesn't have a real story, it has a some other qualities to offer: funny and well-created characters, good actors, a good soundtrack and A LOT of funny scenes and situations (it is bizarre humor though, that may not be recommended for everyone).

The main character Ross (played by Jason Schwartzman) is mostly a "ordinary" drug-abuser trapped in the sick world of drugs. But the other characters are funny, interesting and original. And the actors gives us these unrealistic, and sometimes almost cartoon-like characters, through some good acting. Characters like Spider Mike, played by John Leguizamo, a man I usually hate to see on the screen, and Frisbee, played by Patrick Fugit are highlights. But the one I will be remembering is Mickey Rourke in his role as The Cook (the one who's cooking up all the drugs). I could try to describe him, but it would have taken up too much space. You just have to see him for yourself...funniest character and performance of the film. Brittany Murphy is not only good-looking in this film, she's doing a good performance as the stripper Nikki. And let's not forget about Peter Stormare and Alexis Arquette, who shows up as some weird characters in some of the craziest scenes in the whole film.

One thing that can be said about this film, is that it's weird. You can tell that Jonas Åkerlund is used to directing music-videos, because it may feel like a long music-video at times. And sometimes the film is so twisted that you just have to ask yourself "what the hell is going on on the screen??!!". To make this a "different" comedy, the director uses the style of fast-editing, experimental camera-work and the sometimes very shocking pictures, that was seen in Darren Aronofsky's drug-masterpiece "Requiem For A Dream" (2000). But the problem is that it's being over-used.

I want to use a little comparison to the British film "Human Traffic" (1999). When I saw "Human..." I felt like the film was trying as hard as it could, to be like Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting" (1996). It failed miserably, and in the end I thought it was a bad movie. Now, when I watched "Spun" I felt like it was trying to do the same thing with "Requiem...". It didn't fail the same way as "Human..." though, but it is not even close to being comparable with "Requiem For A Dream". However, "Spun" makes it up with all the humor, and the fact that it is more of the "mindless fun" kind of comedy, that "Human Traffic" wasn't. But as I mentioned earlier, I think the style of the film (which was perfectly used in "Requiem For A Dream") is over-used, and became trying as the film approached it's climax. Therefor, I doubt I will be watching it from beginning to end, one more time.

Overall, "Spun" was a VERY funny comedy, driven by it's well-created characters, to me. This is not humor that fits everyone though, and there will probably be someone (as always) that'll say that it's glorifying the use of drugs. I will recommend it though, if you want to take a trip to the miserable world of drugs, trough a different comedy

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews   Was this review helpful to you?

Report this