Spread (2009)

Elevator Pitch: Nikki is a young man of no fixed abode, who lives by being a player in the LA club scene and installing himself in the houses of rich women where he services their various needs. While he is living with, and depending on Samantha in her luxury pad on the hill, he meets and falls for Heather as well as dallying with various other young women putting his lifestyle at risk. As he finds out more about Heather she becomes less attainable so what is he to do.

Content: This film provides an opportunity for a number of young women to display their well honed physiques, sometimes apparently engaging in enthusiastic sex with Nikki. The camera lingers in the luxury accommodation, particularly the fine swimming pool. Nikki goes to clubs where there are strippers and drinks coffee with his friend Harry.

A View: This seems like a Shakespearian plot, where the cynical young man who manipulates the emotions of others, is hoist himself. Almost too simple really. I was often taken aback by Ashton Kutcher’s clothing which seemed gay to me, but that might be because I’m an old Brit. It felt a bit like Julia Phillips’s “You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again”, where she installed a succession of young men in her Hollywood pads, so I thought of Samantha as her, which made it somehow watchable. But really too little plot and too much nudity. If you’ve read this and still want to watch it, go for it.

Additional Info: Anne Heche was paid $65,000 for her role.