Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The hardest thing to do is to review a so-so movie. There is no passionate love, nor any inspiring need to tear it apart. Then you have Spun. I'm compelled in both directions this time, which has me meeting in the middle at the three stars.

First off, this is a movie about the wild world of crank (not to be confused with crack). Crank is Crystal Meth, usually made in someone's home or a hotel room. This is really the drug of the 70s and early 80s, so many younger folks may not recognize this arena... We see the world of the users, the dealers, their girlfriends, the backers, and the cook. Mainly we center on the cook's gal, Nikki, played very well by Brittany Murphy. Yanno, there really is no plot to this. It's merely about a few days in the life of all these people. Period.

Their only motivation for everything they do is the Crank. John Leguizamo is Spider Mike, the dealer. He's been up so long he can't think straight. Buyers are showing up at the door and hanging around, and he's lost his stash. Emotions flare and wane in a flash. Picture the worst case of ADD you've ever seen.. that's crank addicts. On top of having lost track of his dope, his woman, Cookie, is on his case for sex. Leguizamo so perfectly portrays this guy that it makes ya wonder.. heh. His mannerisms and jerking eye movements are exact. I've been there on both sides. In the 70s on his side, in the 90s on the other side. This was not stereotyping, it was an extremely, haunting true look into the life.

Now Cookie is played by Mena Suvari and I didn't even recognize her. I mean, she looked familiar but neither my daughter or I could place her. Good make up. Seriously. They had the cracked lips and the dark shadowed eyes down pat. Suvari didn't have a large role, but I liked her depiction in this better than her role in The Musketeer by a long shot. At least she looked the part this time.

Jason Schwartzman is Ross, one of the intended buyers and a key player here. It's hard to really pinpoint the main character, but if it wasn't Nikki, then it was Ross. I know that may not make sense now, but it will when you watch it. Ross is needing to score, not a lot, just a nickel or so to keep him going for a bit. Nikki happens to be hanging out at Spider Mike's when the crank is lost and calls her man, the Cook. They need a driver for various things. (It was habit to not own anything, including a car, that could be traced to you back in the bathtub crank days.) They hire Ross. His pay will be in the form of crank.

Now Ross seems like the most normal of the bunch.. at first. the longer he's up, the weirder he gets. This only makes sense, but he gets way out of the range of normal. He picks up his gal (a stripper) at one point and takes her to the hotel and ties her up. Fun and games! Weeeeeeee! But then he has to go run The Cook somewhere and he neglects to untie her, and he gets side tracked.. and well.. all told she's tied up for days. Not fun.

So, I liked all the acting. We also have Patrick Fugit, Debra Harry, and Eric Roberts in various small parts. It's a great cast. The problem arises in the cinematography and the attempt to get cute with it. I'll try to explain.

This is very crude, rude and socially unacceptable. It attempts to get to the nitty gritty of it all. Then it plays to the censors. What's up with that? You have a ton of crotch shots, which I could really do without, but damn it if you are gonna put them in.. then by gawd put them in! The way they censored was to blur.. kinda over-paint if you will. For instance, even in a nekkid but shot, you can't see the butt crack, it's all blended together as one big buttock. Odd and disturbing, if ya ask me.

And it ain't just that.. it's like selectively censored. One scene has Leguizamo masterbating into a sock, and his crotch is all blurred in that, but when he stands up due to the cops busting in, well, there he is, sock a danglin'! It was hilarious, and I loved it... but ok why censor a nekkid butt if you're gonna show Leguizamo's naughty bit barely covered by a sock later? Does not make sense.

Then there's the language. You who read me regularly know that this never phases me. It doesn't here either but I have to bring it up to make a point. Every other word is fuck, as would be true in this world, but once in awhile you hear a word or two bleeped out. huh? WTF? Selective beeping. I can only be left to wonder if Director Jonas Åkerlund was himself on crank at the time of filming. If that idiotic animated sequence at the strip club is any indication, I'd say yeah he was! It was just all so very inconsistant. I understand the jerky cameras, the speeded up frames, and all that stuff to play on the speed freak characters..but the censorship thang was nothing short of annoying.

Either do it or don't. Make up your mind.

This film goes places that are just plane gross. If that kinda thing turns you on, you will be happy to watch Suvari take a dump.. seriously.. to the toilet, grunting.. plop.. shot of the poop falling.. ewwwwwwwwwwwww! That's just one example of where this film dares to go. I'm not saying that's a good thing.

It's just under 2 hours, and Rated R for pervasive drug content, strong sexuality, language and some violence. Ayup. for once, I agree. No kids.

So, to the question of recommending. I do, but not to a great extent. It's amusing, there's parts that are downright laugh out loud funny. It's pretty realistic, except for the weird inconsistancies. So I guess what I'm saying is that if you are in the mood for bizarre, this is your baby. I warned ya.



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age