Spun is a 2002 American
crimeCrime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
dramedyComedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
directed by
Jonas ÅkerlundJonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
, and starring
Jason SchwartzmanJason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
,
Brittany MurphyBrittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
,
Mickey RourkePhilip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
,
Mena SuvariMena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...
,
John LeguizamoJonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
,
Patrick FugitPatrick Raymond Fugit is an American actor best known for his debut performance in the lead role of Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous.-Career:...
,
Eric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
,
Chloe HunterChloe Hunter is an American model and actress best known for appearing in the 2002 film Spun, as well as having her stomach and hand featured in the poster for the 1999 film American Beauty....
, and
Debbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
. It is Åkerlund's début as a feature-film director, having already become known for his work in music videos. The film was shot in 22 days, and centers on various people involved in a
methamphetamine Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
drug ring. The film blends elements of dark comedy and drama in its storytelling. Its title is a reference to the slang term for the way users feel after going multiple days without sleep while on a methamphetamine binge.
Plot
Ross (
Jason SchwartzmanJason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
) is a customer of Spider Mike (
John LeguizamoJonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
), a methamphetamine dealer. Spider Mike and his girlfriend Cookie (
Mena SuvariMena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...
) are constantly arguing, and Ross strikes up a friendship with Nikki (
Brittany MurphyBrittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
), a fellow addict. Nikki takes Ross to "The Cook" (
Mickey RourkePhilip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
), who supplies Spider Mike with drugs from a meth lab he has set up in a
motelA motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
room. The Cook gives a small amount of meth to Ross in exchange for bringing Nikki (his girlfriend) home, and says that he will get in touch with Ross if he needs a driver.
Back at his apartment, Ross gets messages from his mother and his former girlfriend, Amy, wishing him a happy birthday; Amy is also demanding that he pay back money that he owes her. Ross, assuming she still loves him, calls her and leaves a message. He then goes to the local
strip clubA strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
while high, leading to an intense pornographic
hallucinationA hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
. He takes one of the dancers, April (
Chloe HunterChloe Hunter is an American model and actress best known for appearing in the 2002 film Spun, as well as having her stomach and hand featured in the poster for the 1999 film American Beauty....
), home and has sex with her in a variety of positions, the last of which leaves her handcuffed and tied to the bed. As they finish, the Cook calls with an emergency regarding Nikki's dog. Ross, still high, duct-tapes April's eyes and mouth shut to keep her quiet and leaves without releasing her. While Ross and Nikki take the dog to the
veterinarianA veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
, policemen and a TV crew raid the trailer where Frisbee (
Patrick FugitPatrick Raymond Fugit is an American actor best known for his debut performance in the lead role of Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous.-Career:...
), another one of Spider Mike's customers, lives, falsely believing that a meth lab is located there. They take Frisbee and his overweight mother into custody, where they threaten him into cooperation in a drug bust.
The same day, Ross and the Cook stop by a local gas station to pick up a case of
ephedrineEphedrine is a sympathomimetic amine commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia....
pills and a soda. Next they go to a liquor store to purchase a six-pack of beer. They then visit an adult film store, where the Cook preaches about the values of
pornographyPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
in America. Ross calls Amy's house again, but to no avail. He drops the Cook off at his place and rushes home to April, who is still tied to the bed. In the Cook's motel room, he and Nikki have a fight after a prostitute arrives. Nikki ends their relationship, and calls Ross and asks him to take her to a bus station so she can go back to
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. Ross leaves April again, who is still tied to the bed; she is subsequently rescued by Ross's
lesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
neighbor (
Debbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
).
While Ross and Nikki are out, Frisbee is coerced by the cops to wear a wire and make a deal with Spider Mike so they can arrest him. When he enters, Cookie attempts to make love to him, her revenge on Spider Mike for his use of a
phone sexPhone sex is a type of virtual sex that refers to sexually explicit conversation between or other persons via telephone, especially when at least one of the participants masturbates or engages in sexual fantasy...
line. She finds the wire, and the cops rush in to make the drug bust. Spider Mike, furious at Frisbee's betrayal, shoots him in the testicles, and Spider Mike and Cookie are arrested. Meanwhile, the Cook's meth lab catches fire and destroys the motel room. He takes off to the adult film store, where he is arrested after the owner (
Rob HalfordRobert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
) calls the police. Once the Cook makes bail, he calls Ross asking for a ride to another dealer's house in the city after he drops Nikki off at the station. Ross learns of everyone else's arrests, and agrees to drive him there, as well as visit Amy, who also lives in the city.
The dealer (
Eric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
) provides the Cook with cash, some meth, and the equipment to start a new meth lab. Ross calls Amy again, and leaves a message asking to see her and that he has her money with him. The Cook promises six months' worth of meth to Ross in exchange for being his
chauffeurA chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...
; he agrees on the condition that he can see Amy first. Amy, who has gotten her life together and found work in the city, leaves him in the park after seeing that he is still an addict. He gives her $100 of the money he owes her, and leaves with the Cook.
Finally, after several days of nonstop activity fueled by drug use, the main characters all go to sleep except for the Cook. As Ross naps in his car, the Cook starts up a new lab in an old trailer, but blows it and himself up in the process.
Cast
- Jason Schwartzman
Jason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
as Ross
- Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
as Nikki
- Mena Suvari
Mena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...
as Cookie
- Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
as The Cook
- John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
as Spider Mike
- Patrick Fugit
Patrick Raymond Fugit is an American actor best known for his debut performance in the lead role of Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous.-Career:...
as Frisbee
- Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
as The "Neighbor"
- Peter Stormare
is a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician.- Early life :...
and Alexis ArquetteAlexis Arquette is an American trans woman, actress, musician, and cabaret performer.-Early life:...
as The cops
- Chloe Hunter
Chloe Hunter is an American model and actress best known for appearing in the 2002 film Spun, as well as having her stomach and hand featured in the poster for the 1999 film American Beauty....
as April Love
- Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
as The Man
Cameos
- Larry Drake
Larry Drake is an American actor.Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Lorraine, a homemaker, and Raymond Drake, a drafting engineer for an oil company. Drake is renowned for his portrayal of developmentally disabled Benny Stulwicz on the television show L.A...
as Dr. K
- Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
as the doctor examining Frisbee's injury
- China Chow
China Chow is a British actress and model.-Personal life:Chow was born in London, England to restaurateur Michael Chow and late model/designer Tina Chow. She is of Chinese, Japanese, German, and Scottish ancestry. Chow has a brother who is three years younger. Her aunt is actress and one-time Bond...
as the prostitute ordered by the Cook
- Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
as the clerk in the sex store
- Tony Kaye
Tony Kaye is a British musician.Kaye was the original keyboard player for the progressive rock group Yes from 1968 to 1971, and rejoined Yes from 1983 to 1995...
as the announcer in the strip-bar
- Ron Jeremy
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
as the bartender
- Josh Peck
Joshua Michael "Josh" Peck is an American actor, comedian, director, and voice actor best known for playing Josh Nichols in the Nickelodeon live-action sitcom Drake & Josh. He began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and became known to young audiences after his role on...
as Fat Boy
Reception
The film got mixed reactions, with some analysts remarking that the film added nothing new to the genre of drug movies.
Time Out London was particularly harsh, accusing the film of "smug amoralism", and claiming that Åkerlund simply re-uses other people's ideas and techniques.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
was more sympathetic in his review, where he described the film as having "effortless wickedness". His main appraisal is the fact that the film in no way attempts to romanticise any of the characters. He does, however, explicitly mention the similarities between this and the earlier
Requiem for a Dream. This comparison may not have been lost on the filmmakers. The title on a
pornographicPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
tape purchased by a character reads "Rectum For A Dream", and the scenes which show consumption of the drug also show its constricting effect on the pupils in
fast cutscenesFast cutting is a film editing technique which refers to several consecutive shots of a brief duration . It can be used to convey a lot of information very quickly, or to imply either energy or chaos...
.
Soundtrack
The original music for
Spun was written by
Billy CorganWilliam Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
. The soundtrack to the film features songs by artists such as
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
(performed by
The Djali ZwanZwan was an American alternative rock band that was formed by members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Slint, Tortoise, Chavez, and A Perfect Circle. Zwan was started in late 2001 by Billy Corgan, lead singer and guitarist of The Smashing Pumpkins, after the Pumpkins disbanded in December 2000. The band...
),
Ozzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
,
Mötley CrüeMötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
,
Blues TravelerBlues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...
,
BathoryBathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by Quorthon in 1983. They are regarded as pioneers of both black metal and viking metal. Quorthon remained the main songwriter and member of Bathory for more than two decades. Bathory was permanently ended after Quorthon's death in 2004...
(for whom Åkerlund played drums for early on),
Richie HavensRichard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
,
Phantom PlanetPhantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
(with which
Jason SchwartzmanJason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
played drums at the time),
Per Gessle (male half of Roxette)Per Håkan Gessle is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonicist. He is the lead singer of the Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider and formed Roxette with Marie Fredriksson...
,
PaolaPaola Bruna , previously Paola Åhlund, is a Swedish artist and singer of Chilean descent and grew up in Dalarna.Bruna was trained as a painter at Konstfack. Her efforts have included singing for Moder Jords Massiva, performed as DJ and released a solo album Stockcity Girl. She also sang in the...
, and
SatyriconSatyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
, whose video for the song "
Mother NorthNemesis Divina is an album by the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon. This album contains the seminal fan favorite Mother North in which a video was shot for, that was shown in the American movie Spun for a few seconds. The music video opens with "Montagues and Capulets".-Track listing:*All...
" appears in the movie.
External links