Spread
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Run time: 97 minutes
Director: David Mackenzie
Screenwriters: Jason Dean Hall
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Rachel Blanchard, Sebastian Stan, Sonia Rockwell
Theater: Eccles Theater
Synopsis and review (by Geoffrey Gilmore in the Sundance Film Guide):
Los Angeles is often the customary style for myth-making in the American cultural iconography. It is a place, for instance, where the legend of the sexual exploits of the male gigolo seems perfectly at home in the decadent universe of Hollywood dreams and nightmares.
Surely inspired by the classic tradition of American Gigolo and Shampoo, Spread is such a perfectly tuned, contemporary depiction of the trials and tribulations of sleeping your way to wealth and success that, guilty pleasure or not, it’s irresistible. Especially so since it’s driven by the iconic persona of Ashton Kutcher, who plays Nikki, and breathes the charged sexuality of the sexual grafter as if he were born to it.
Stylishly directed by David MacKenzie (Hallam Foe, Young Adam), Spread is a moral tale in a very modern sense with its characters of a young man and his middle-aged well-to-do client (played by Anne Heche), his various associates and conquests, and a waitress whom he begins to really care about (unbeknownst to him, she’s playing the same game). The world of money, sex, and privilege is an ephemeral one, and the fall can be as sudden as the ascent. Spread is a finely crafted vision of ambition, indulgence, vanity, and self-realization that epitomizes the lifestyle of a fabled Mecca.
Thoughts and observations:
This movie was not exactly as I expected in the sense that it was more graphic sexually that I was anticipating. Don’t get me wrong … I didn’t mind and I wasn’t offended but, if the film is picked up for distribution, there would most surely have to be significant edits in order to obtain an “R” rating. Ashton Kutcher did not attend the movie but he was there for the Q&A and he was more articulate that I would have imagined. The writer, Jason Dean Hall, was there (and a cutie I might add) as was the actress who played Nikki’s love interest.
After the movie, we headed to Main Street and ate at the Main Street Pizza & Noodle, which is apparently quite the celebrity hangout. I had a Stromboli with added anchovies that was delicious and started with cheese fries and ranch. Umm … really salty, really delicious and really not on my nutritional program (I had a bit of food remorse later. Oh well). We sat at the same table Macaulay Culkin sat at the day before. The table faced the windows of Main Street and the people watching was great. We didn’t really see any stars (although possibly Trisha Yearwood) through the windows but Johnny Rzeznick, the lead singer of The Goo Goo Dolls, was eating at a nearby table. As we were leaving, Seth Green was coming in and he is TINY. He looked about 12 years old, was very short and slight in build. After lunch we can back to the condo and Lisa and Ron took a nap while I loaded pictures, wrote on the blog and took a little cat nap.
At 11:30 p.m., we saw No Impact Man, a film in the Documentary Spotlight category.
No Impact Man
Director: David Mackenzie
Screenwriters: Jason Dean Hall
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Rachel Blanchard, Sebastian Stan, Sonia Rockwell
Theater: Eccles Theater
Synopsis and review (by Geoffrey Gilmore in the Sundance Film Guide):
Los Angeles is often the customary style for myth-making in the American cultural iconography. It is a place, for instance, where the legend of the sexual exploits of the male gigolo seems perfectly at home in the decadent universe of Hollywood dreams and nightmares.
Surely inspired by the classic tradition of American Gigolo and Shampoo, Spread is such a perfectly tuned, contemporary depiction of the trials and tribulations of sleeping your way to wealth and success that, guilty pleasure or not, it’s irresistible. Especially so since it’s driven by the iconic persona of Ashton Kutcher, who plays Nikki, and breathes the charged sexuality of the sexual grafter as if he were born to it.
Stylishly directed by David MacKenzie (Hallam Foe, Young Adam), Spread is a moral tale in a very modern sense with its characters of a young man and his middle-aged well-to-do client (played by Anne Heche), his various associates and conquests, and a waitress whom he begins to really care about (unbeknownst to him, she’s playing the same game). The world of money, sex, and privilege is an ephemeral one, and the fall can be as sudden as the ascent. Spread is a finely crafted vision of ambition, indulgence, vanity, and self-realization that epitomizes the lifestyle of a fabled Mecca.
Thoughts and observations:
This movie was not exactly as I expected in the sense that it was more graphic sexually that I was anticipating. Don’t get me wrong … I didn’t mind and I wasn’t offended but, if the film is picked up for distribution, there would most surely have to be significant edits in order to obtain an “R” rating. Ashton Kutcher did not attend the movie but he was there for the Q&A and he was more articulate that I would have imagined. The writer, Jason Dean Hall, was there (and a cutie I might add) as was the actress who played Nikki’s love interest.
After the movie, we headed to Main Street and ate at the Main Street Pizza & Noodle, which is apparently quite the celebrity hangout. I had a Stromboli with added anchovies that was delicious and started with cheese fries and ranch. Umm … really salty, really delicious and really not on my nutritional program (I had a bit of food remorse later. Oh well). We sat at the same table Macaulay Culkin sat at the day before. The table faced the windows of Main Street and the people watching was great. We didn’t really see any stars (although possibly Trisha Yearwood) through the windows but Johnny Rzeznick, the lead singer of The Goo Goo Dolls, was eating at a nearby table. As we were leaving, Seth Green was coming in and he is TINY. He looked about 12 years old, was very short and slight in build. After lunch we can back to the condo and Lisa and Ron took a nap while I loaded pictures, wrote on the blog and took a little cat nap.
At 11:30 p.m., we saw No Impact Man, a film in the Documentary Spotlight category.
No Impact Man
Run time: 90 minutes
Director: Laura Gabbert, Justin Schein
Cast: Colin Peavan, Michelle Conlin
Theater: Holiday Theater III
Synopsis and review (by Caroline Libresco in the Sundance Film Guide):
GLOBAL WARMING! The headlines scream it; the thermometer confirms it; but few of us do much to address it. Author Colin Beavan and his family are pictures of liberal complacency – sophisticated, takeout-addicted New Yorkers who refuse to let moral qualms interfere with gold old-fashioned American consumerism. Then Colin turns things upside down. For his next book, he announces he’s becoming No Impact Man, testing whether making zero environmental impact adversely affects happiness. The hitch is his needs his wife, Michelle – an espresso-guzzling, Prada-worshipping Business Week writer – and their toddler to join the experiment.
A year without electricity, cars, toilet paper, and non-local food isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Or is it? As Michelle contends with caffeine and shopping withdrawal, compost worms, and defending her dreams in the face of Colin’s household hegemony, she’s gradually transformed by this life-without-wastefulness. Meanwhile, Colin’s numerous media appearances unleash a viral rash of criticism among bloggers and friends, raising doubts about the project’s integrity. Is it ostentatious or altruistic? Hypocritical or visionary?
Whatever the conclusion, no one can deny we’re going to have to alter our habits radically to achieve sustainability. Through the intimate prism of conflict within a contemporary marriage, No Impact Man suggests that individual change can be the first step in a quantum leap toward a systematic, societal shift. And the temporary discomfort just might be worth it.
Thoughts and observations:
Both Colin and Michelle were at the movie as were the directors. I found the movie thought provoking and it definitely made me think about the things I could and could not live without. For example, I could see eventually adjusting to no television but there is no way that I could adjust to no toilet paper. I just don’t see how I could live without air conditioning but I could see utilizing local markets for food. One of the things I thought that was so impactful (is that a word?) is that Colin and Michelle did this project as urban dwellers (they live in New York City). Living in the sprawling vastness of Houston, giving up transportation would simply not be feasible for my life but I liked that they showed how change could be accomplished in a busy, urban life. If I lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere, giving up going to the scrapbook store would be easy – there wouldn’t be one. But, to make such radical changes in a city environment seems so much more difficult and challenging. I would like to explore some options when I get home about how Joe and I can make less adverse environmental impact.
A year without electricity, cars, toilet paper, and non-local food isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Or is it? As Michelle contends with caffeine and shopping withdrawal, compost worms, and defending her dreams in the face of Colin’s household hegemony, she’s gradually transformed by this life-without-wastefulness. Meanwhile, Colin’s numerous media appearances unleash a viral rash of criticism among bloggers and friends, raising doubts about the project’s integrity. Is it ostentatious or altruistic? Hypocritical or visionary?
Whatever the conclusion, no one can deny we’re going to have to alter our habits radically to achieve sustainability. Through the intimate prism of conflict within a contemporary marriage, No Impact Man suggests that individual change can be the first step in a quantum leap toward a systematic, societal shift. And the temporary discomfort just might be worth it.
Thoughts and observations:
Both Colin and Michelle were at the movie as were the directors. I found the movie thought provoking and it definitely made me think about the things I could and could not live without. For example, I could see eventually adjusting to no television but there is no way that I could adjust to no toilet paper. I just don’t see how I could live without air conditioning but I could see utilizing local markets for food. One of the things I thought that was so impactful (is that a word?) is that Colin and Michelle did this project as urban dwellers (they live in New York City). Living in the sprawling vastness of Houston, giving up transportation would simply not be feasible for my life but I liked that they showed how change could be accomplished in a busy, urban life. If I lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere, giving up going to the scrapbook store would be easy – there wouldn’t be one. But, to make such radical changes in a city environment seems so much more difficult and challenging. I would like to explore some options when I get home about how Joe and I can make less adverse environmental impact.
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