JIM reviews film “SPREAD” -- GIGOLOS-’R-US: A story of Sex, Lies & FROGS =

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

“SPREAD” — GIGOLOS-’R-US: A story of Sex, Lies & FROGS =

Rating: 6.5 of 10 stars.

My title above is actually quite accurate— which might well serve as a “cautionary” tale for many of you. The film’s trailers apparently don’t make clear this is a very R-rated project, with numerous graphic sex scenes by people such as smooth-talking Gigolo-For Hire Nikki (ASHTON KUTCHER, in one of his most “serious” & better-acted roles) & hot-to-trot Rich-Older-Woman Samantha (ANNE HECHE). Ashton’s a calculating charmer if it gets him the easy-living he seeks— but it’s left him frequently Homeless, with few real friends outside of pet-lover Harry (SEBASTIAN STAN).

Ashton (whose character is accurately described as “vacuous”’ at one point) is a bit thrown for a loop when he meets initially-disinterested waitress Heather (MARGARITA LEVIEVA), &, partly because of her demeanor, he starts to “fall” for her. But, he learns there’s a very good REASON she’s “on” to him & his insincere ways. With all the sex displays, I must wonder just who this movie is really “aimed” at. A “sensitive” friend commented, he almost wished he’d seen a couple watching this during a “first date”— so he could see them “SQUIRM” in discomfort at the unexpected activity! The same friend was made nearly “apoplectic” at what he considered the “up-in-the-air” indefinite ENDING to the film— tho I personally saw a peculiar sort of quasi-realistic “growth” in some of the main characters. It’s a strange, bittersweet concoction overall— & not at all a “comedy” it’s being touted as. Before you see it, understand what you’re going to get!