Spread
Some people are willing to work hard and make sacrifices to secure the finer things in life.
Some people are willing to work hard and make sacrifices to secure the finer things in life.
Others want it handed to them on a silver platter.
Nikki, the anti-hero of David Mackenzie's film Spread, craves the trappings of a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle for the least possible effort.
So he sells his most valuable asset: his body.
'I don't want to be arrogant here.
I'm an incredibly attractive man.
I can't help it, I just am,' he boasts in the opening voice-over, which bookends his character's escapades.
Strutting down the same Los Angeles streets as American Gigolo, albeit without the impeccable dress sense, Spread is a tawdry account of a hustler's dalliances in the lap of luxury and his ultimate comeuppance at the hands of Cupid.
Scripted by Jason Dean Hall, the picture certainly doesn't spare the blushes of its lead stars, who spend much of the picture dishabille, engaging in impressively gymnastic sex acts next to crystal blue pools or over expensive granite work surfaces.
Former model turned professional goofball, Ashton Kutcher, looks sensational naked - and he's matched bump for grind by 40-year-old Anne Heche, who doesn't have an ounce of fat on her frequently-exposed frame.
If sex sells, then Spread should make a small fortune - presuming you're willing to overlook major deficiencies in plot and characterisation.
Nikki (Kutcher) is a hustler who prowls parties in search of rich women to keep him in the lifestyle he has become accustomed to.
Good looking and great in the sack, he's a master of flirtation and quickly zeroes in on high-flying lawyer Samantha (Heche).
She gladly keeps Nikki as her toy boy, financing his slacker lifestyle until she comes home one day to find her beau in flagrante delicto with another woman.
The balance of power shifts back in Nikki's favour when he falls under the spell of pretty young waitress Heather (Margarita Levieva), whose presence causes Samantha to consider cosmetic surgery to compete for his affections.
While Samantha prepares to revitalise her chamber of Venus, Nikki learns that Heather doesn't fall for his usual patter, and he'll have to try harder to gain her trust.
Spread is populated by selfish people, driven by pleasure and status, who beg for our sympathy when their tawdry lives come apart at the seams.
We see a very different side to Kutcher - in truth, we see almost all of him - in a dramatic role which is a world away from the tomfoolery of Dude, Where's My Car?.
It's a largely one-note performance, and the voice-over is monotone.
If Nikki is having fun, he is loathe to show it.
Heche and Levieva both contend with underwritten roles, the latter playing the hustler at his own game.
Release Date: Friday 1 January 2010
Certificate: 18
Runtime: 97mins
