jmerlino Spun takes the viewer on a harrowing, hilarious ride-along with a bunch of speed freaks as they blast through a four-day binge. We meet normal guy Ross as he goes to score from his dealer, Spider Mike. At Spider's place, we meet his girlfriend Cookie, her friend Nikki, and teenage hanger-on, Frisbee. Spider has lost his stash and is freaking out. Nikki tells Ross that she can get him some speed, because her boyfriend is the cook.The cook agrees to provide Ross with speed if Ross will act as driver for him and Nikki (Ross being the only one with a functioning car). Ross goes off to meet his occasional hookup, stripper April. They go back to Ross's apartment (complete with eviction notice tacked to the door), and have loads of kinky sex. The cook calls. Nikki needs a ride. Ross leaves April tied to his bed (he'll be "right back") and proceeds to forget about her for a couple of days (Oops! Looks like Ross isn't so normal after all).Things go on in this vein. Frisbee is arrested and forced to rat on Spider. The cook blows up a hotel room. Ross hits rock bottom (but seems not to realize it) when his "girlfriend" (Amy, not his hookup, April) makes it very clear that she has no interest in him beyond the $400 he owes her.Along the way, people do drugs, talk incessantly, have sex and argue. what they do not do is eat or sleep.The movie's best point is its unflinching portrayal of the grubby lives of the characters. Mena Suvari, as Cookie, is a pale, pockmarked mess (contrast that with her radiance in American Beauty). Brittany Murphy, as Nikki, is sexy, but in a very low-rent kind of way. Jason Schwartzman's Ross is a convincing everyman, who becomes a twitchy, red-eyed burnout with scabby cuticles by the end. Formication is a bitch! The acting is great. These characters are not admirable people, and Schwartzman, Murphy, and especially Suvari have taken big risks in playing them.Unfortunately, the film does have some big flaws. Ross utters some embarrassingly amateurish lines like, "...and the great thing is, I'm not hooked!" We know it's meant to be ironic, but there's irony, and then there's irony that comes walking into the room with a sign around its neck saying, "Hello, my name is Irony." It's painfully obvious that this is a first script.In the end, though, this is a film that will stay with you. It's world is grubby, saturated and pornographic, but all to the purpose of getting to the core of the speed-ruined characters who inhabit it.

Lesha Holland When I saw "Requiem For A Dream" for the first time, I remember that I was puzzled, confused, annoyed, then incensed at the consistent failure to correctly depict the proper physiological effects a shot of any form of opiates would have upon the pupil: Constriction, rather than dilation. Eventually, I decided to stop being so ridiculously anal-retentive about it: Maybe a big ol' pupil was simply considered more... "cinematic" or whatever! HOWEVER: The VERY NEXT major Drug-Flick I saw, "Spun," shared the same, glaring "blooper" of depicting a pupillary response 100% wrong; An oversight [???] made all the more noticeable by the rest of the film's near-unprecedented level of accuracy, realism, and resonance.Can anyone tell me why the pupils get BIG in the heroin movie, and SMALL in the tweak-flick??? I know this question would be a better fit if placed in the message board section, but I can't seem to undulate my way through the verification process. Please, someone: Respond!

Gary Murphy I was expecting a gritty drama of life as a drug seeker. Unfortunately, the writers chose to interject campy comedy into the rather stoned script, so all notion of interest went away quickly. The direction and editing were second rate. One of Brittany Murphy's rants was so poorly edited, the point of the dialog was lost.There was some good acting by the primary cast of characters. John Leguizamo did an exceptional job as did Brittany Murphy. Mena Suvari also turned in a good performance. Much of the rest of the cast were B actors, turning in some awful performances. The two gals that portrayed the liquor store clerks must have really been clerks because they certainly weren't actors. Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts demonstrated their expected second rate skills.The story line also went into animated trip scenes that I felt were just pornographic. I am not prudish about such things, but it was not relevant to advancing the story or helping us understand the characters. Certainly, I don't need to see a turd drop. What was the point of that? In all this is a mess of a movie. It suffers from bad writing, horrible direction and a severe shortage of good acting. If you are interested in some tales of drugs, skip this flick and rent "Requiem for a Dream".

Brettbuzzkill I would like to know that song in the video on the DVD. It doesn't say who it's by. I'm guessing Los Palmas? That's the sign it shows in the beginning of the song. I really like it and would like to know more of the artist. Kinda like Mazzy Star, very melancholy but drugged up. Great performances, Mickey is really an underrated actor. I have to add more, so I love music, and I think Mr. Ackerland should really listen to the band TOOL. If he doesn't already, he'll find a lot of drama and vagueness in the song's. It would be great for a movie and or plot of such messed up, drugged up people in this great free world of ours. later, email me @ Brettbuzzkill@yahoo.com if you know the group name,thanks