Spin Me Round (2022)

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"Spin Me Round is purposefully wacky and extremely absurd, ultimately going way over the fine line between "it's so ridiculous that it's fun" and the growing annoyance at the amount of cringe displayed on the screen each minute.

Despite excellent performances by most of the cast - Alison Brie is exceptional - the predictable, frustratingly incoherent screenplay lacks the necessary comedic value to be considered "dumb fun". Aubrey Plaza is criminally underused - marketing campaign is misleading - as are countless storylines that are forgotten, ignored, or sabotaged by poor writing.

One of the worst movies of the year."

Rating: D-

Amber (Alison Brier) is nominally a manager at Italian food restaurant Tuscan Grove. We’re told she has "run this place like a perfectly run ship" for "nine years." We have to take this information at face value because we never see her running anything, perfectly or otherwise.

This is a shame because, as the unerring Roger Ebert once pointed out, actual work is more interesting than most plots; accordingly, a film about the actual inner workings of a restaurant would be much more interesting than Spin Me Round’s plot.

Did I say 'would be'? Scratch that; what I really meant is that a film about the actual inner workings of a restaurant is much more interesting than Spin Me Round’s plot. Take for instance British drama Boiling Point; it’s not perfect, but it’s honest (honesty and originality being the two most important qualities in a work of art ) — it puts its money where its mouth is, talking the talk as well as walking the walk.

Spin Me Round, on the other hand, is full of it. It reminds me of The Lovebirds (and, by extension, Date Night) in its belief that comedy can only stem from implausible, outrageous situations. Now, I’m not saying that’s not possible, but think of the phrase 'it’s funny because it’s true' — it’s a cliché, sure, but for good reason.

Alison Brie is just too good for this crap. She’s not just a cute little thing; she’s a talented, daring performer (consider Horse Girl, The Rental). Co-stars Molly Shannon, Aubrey Plaza, Zach Woods (the entire cast for that matter) are nowhere near Brie’s league; the question is, then, why is she slumming it with them?