SPUN
Released: March 14, 2003
"Spun" reminds me of a more commercially engineered version of Darren Aronofsky's recent drug flick "Requiem for a Dream". Not that there's much of a story going on here but the way director Jonas Akerlund weaves all the scenes together does make for some memorable cinema. "Rushmore" star Jason Schwartzman is Ross, is a hyper-paranoid meth freak looking for his next baggie of powder dreams from his local distributor Spider Mike (John Leguizamo). The characters that Ross meets includes Spider's equally freaked out girlfriend Cookie (Mena Suvari), Frisbee (Patrick Fugit of "Almost Famous" fame), Brittany Murphy (Nikki), Mickey Rourke (the Cook), Peter Stormare & Alexis Arquette (two loaded cops) and a drag queen gone wrong played by Eric Roberts. In fact, Roberts proves here that with his "Spun" character and his "Star 80" role that he really is up there with his sister Julia in the acting department, though definately not as recognized. Also watch for Deborah Harry in a small but fun part as an angry lesbian neighbor of the Ross character. This is a drug movie but it can hardly be said to be glamorizing the world of crystal methedrine snorting. All the actors take risks here, exposing whatever's left of their vanity. Notably, the Suvari character takes a dump, the Leguizamo character wears nothing but a sock in one scene, the Fugit character gets shot in the testicles... The antics go on and on. But one thing you should be informed of is to AVOID THE R-RATED VERSION OF "SPUN"! Get the unrated version instead, otherwise you'll see so much censored footage that you'll only eventually see a shell of a movie that deserves to be seen in its totally unhinged shocking and disgustingness.
102 Minutes
Newmarket Films/