Spread

Stars: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Rachel Blanchard, Maria Conchita Alonso, Ashley Johnson, Sonia Rockwell, Hart Bochner

Director: David Mackenzie

Thirtyish gigolo pursues flat-chested girls in Los Angeles. Car-less and homeless, he uses his debatable charm to secure a bed for the night - and sometimes longer... Given the chance of relationships with an older (Heche) and younger (Levieva) woman, he predictably blows them both.

So sloppily written as to be as empty and vacuous as its leading character (far, far below the standard of Mackenzie's previous two successes Young Adam and Hallam Foe), the film only provides another step on the downward career path for Kutcher, who was unwise enough to co-produce as well. The film's sex scenes are moderately explicit for a mainstream movie, but cold and clinical as well, and the main entertainment is provided by a toad under the end credits.

David Quinlan

USA 2009. UK Distributor: Optimum. Colour by Eastman Kodak.
96 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 18.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 2, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 29 Dec 2009