Search - Spin the Bottle on DVD

Some Silence Please!

Cambel | Washington, DC USA | 11/06/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"One of the main problems I've noticed with some films done by folks new to filmaking is a HUGE overreliance on what they perceive as witty or "Politically Important Dialogue" This film, while advertised as a gay Big Chill with a twist, was more similar to sitting in a classroom while a bunch of senior creative writting majors read their mid-term rough drafts to the class. First we have the innocent couple debating telling folks that they are engaged. Then we have the sexy troublemaker rambling on at dinner about how eating meat is a sexist evil perpetuated by the partiarchy, next is the overly dramatic girl with self esteem issues that is horrifically poorly acted to the point that you cannot tell if she is an escaped mental patient or just somebody who likes whinning in a babyish voice. Basically the plot of the movie wasn't too bad and it would have made a fun short film, say...20 minutes. The problem was in trying to show us how clever some of the characters were it passed the point of sardonic or tongue in cheek to merely self indulgent and boring. The homophobia at the end seemed a bit stuck on as well."

Lives Take a Twist As The Bottle Spins

Bob Drake | Bronx, NY United States | 05/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This began as a NYU Film School Project but ended up a nice Indie film with few flaws. The characters are nicely drawn and well played. Without the hints given in other reviews it will keep you guessing as to the ultimate outcome, and the final scenes seem to indicate that it might not be completely decided even then.Homophobes should toddle off to bed before they get upset, as all bases are covered here, and those wanting a totally happy ending are not really Indie film viewers anyway.The commentary reveals unexpected behind-the-scenes facts that add to the total enjoyment."

A Nice Surprise From A Little Film!

04/24/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A pleasant reunion of five childhood friends at a remote lakeside lodge soon escalates into a weekend of tense emotions, sexual escapades and subtle but effective revenge. This comedy-drama unfolds as an innocent game of Spin the Bottle unleashes sexual secrets, brings about some sleeping and screwing around and allows one person to get some long-awaited revenge. A cute, good-looking cast of twenty-somethings, an original storyline and some great dialogue makes this a winner in my book! A fine addition to your dvd collection!"

Sympathy lost

Terran | Sunny CA USA | 08/19/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Ultimately a disappointing film, though the plot is more feasible than the better written and acted RITES OF PASSAGE. The plot allows five childhood friends now in their late twenties to revisit the past. The two lone male characters have a PAST that causes one of the men to nurture a grudge and the other to suffer pangs of guilt that the female friends have only a cursory knowledge of. This serves as one of those tension points in the film, finally explosive as the characters - and the plot - turn on a game of "spin the bottle." Besides guilt, the same newly engaged man also is forced to realize he's gone through life as a leaf in the breeze, never setting a deliberate course for himself, but instead unpleasantly residing in a state of complacency. He doesn't seem to know how to get himself out of this malaise, and this is the root of all his - and the other man's - problems and why things went so horribly bad between them the issue must still be settled more than a decade later. Though I didn't find any of the characters likeable, seeming far too self-absorbed and infantile, the lot of them, what does work finally are the surprise elements: characters you disliked on sight turn out - by film's end - to be the characters whose view you can most endorse and vice versa. I've never found real-life relationships to work that way, but in a film setting it functions."