Spin Me Round<\/em> brings back Horse Girl<\/em> filmmaking-writing-acting team Jeff Baena and Brie for a bleak send-up of \u201cwoman gets her groove back\u201d romantic fantasies. It sounds great on paper, but in practice it\u2019s tonally incongruous and mean-spirited. Brie\u2019s protagonist Amber does eventually gain strength and moral fiber from her experiences, but mostly the film is delighted to take frequent metaphorical dumps all over her, and her dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brie\u2019s Amber manages the Bakersfield location of Tuscan Grove, an Olive Garden-esque restaurant chain owned by hunky Nick Martucci (Alessandro Nivola). When she\u2019s selected for a restaurant-sponsored professional development retreat in Italy, the financially-strapped, romantically insecure Amber considers it an opportunity for a fresh start\u2014she\u2019s even brought a copy of Eat, Pray, Love<\/em> along for the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, nothing goes as expected. The \u201cvilla\u201d where Amber and her fellow managers stay is a cheap hotel sandwiched between Nick\u2019s estate and a set of train tracks. The program guide, Craig (Ben Sinclair), seems determined to keep the participants from leaving the grounds. Beyond Amber, the rest of the group contains a swath of bizarre characters, including would-be chef Fran (Tim Heidecker), Tuscan Grove fanboy Dana (Zach Woods), and Deb (Molly Shannon), whose lost luggage triggers her increasingly unhinged behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Nick expresses romantic interest in Amber, it\u2019s a welcome distraction from the program and an exciting prospect characterized by deep conversations, yacht trips, and expensive gifts. Amber also connects with Plaza\u2019s Kat, Nick\u2019s uber-cool assistant, whose ominous statements about her boss suggest there\u2019s something unsavory beneath his handsome exterior. Like Tuscan Grove itself, nothing is as it appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cast of Spin Me Round<\/em> is stacked with regular Baena collaborators, and everyone implicitly understands the vibe. Sinclair is a particular standout, radiating malevolent smarm. Nivola continues his streak of sad-sack macho slimeball roles in a performance that requires him to be both suave and embarrassingly un-glamorous, both of which he pulls off effortlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Nick and Kat\u2019s motives become more inscrutable, however, the film feels increasingly emotionally removed. Baena and Brie seem more interested in having Amber experience an escalating parade of unacceptable behavior than exploring actual emotional connections of the kind she quietly longs for. It feels like Amber is being punished for wanting a better life, even though she seems deserving of love, fulfillment, and a more rewarding career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spin Me Round<\/em> has a few good performances to recommend\u2014the folks you\u2019d expect to hit it out of the park do, including Woods, whose character deserves a more developed arc than he gets. However, it\u2019s hard to tell what the film wants to say about Amber and her dreams, and what is<\/em> apparent seems needlessly unpleasant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fantasies like Amber\u2019s are inherently ridiculous, but they\u2019re based in legitimate emotional desires. Here, those desires are a punchline, as if Baena and Brie think a dead-end job and a lonely apartment are the best anyone deserves. Coming from two successful artists who likely made more off this single film than the characters they depict make in a year, that sentiment rings extra hollow. God forbid we mere mortals strive for anything more. “Spin Me Round” is in theaters, on demand, and streaming on AMC+ on Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/SPIN-ME-ROUND-Still-9-1024x554.jpg\")
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