Spin Me Round – Film Review

When the manager of an American chain restaurant is selected to attend a special training program in Italy, her head swims with dreams of European glamour and romance. But the trip turns out to be much different — and possibly more dangerous — than the exotic getaways she imagines.

There’s a carefree, happy-go-lucky feeling from Jeff Baena‘s Spin Me Round that will make you be in a good mood almost instantly. It’s just a shame that his film is never able to keep that momentum up, with a second act that while entertaining, feels full of filler and a third act that feels far too abrupt.

This film is like an old classic right down to the opening titles, the music, and the cinematography. Spin Me Round is certainly one of the most unique films of the year in terms of its style and flair, and its passion for Italy. This movie is essentially a love letter to the country. If you haven’t gone there yet, watching this film will only make you want to visit even more.

Baena penned the script with Alison Brie which is quite impressive because she stars in the film as the lead, and also because she mostly has experience as an actress and not a writer. This isn’t one of the best written films of the year, but it’s never bad. It does, unfortunately, struggle to find ways to make the story constantly engaging.

It also has a real problem with characters. Brie’s character Amber is by far the most interesting of the bunch and she’s the one that we feel the most connected to which is a good thing because, well, she is the lead after all. Alessandro Nivola is wonderful in the role of Nick, as is Aubrey Plaza as Kat. They all have wonderful chemistry together as well, particularly Brie and Plaza.

The film tends to focus on these three almost exclusively which struck me as bizarre because there’s a scene very early on where every character in the film sits in a circle and introduces themselves. Why even bother casting people such as Zach Woods and Molly Shannon if you’re never going to use them too often?

It also has a bit of a problem with predictability, but it seemed as if the filmmakers were okay with that and almost embraced it. Still, it would have been nice had the film taken some more big swings instead of playing the story almost entirely safe for the majority of the film.

If you’re someone who’s incredibly passionate about their love for Italy, you might as well give this one a watch. Maybe if you’re someone who’s a huge romance film buff, you’ll get a kick out of it. Not one of the most impressive films of the year for me, personally, but definitely not bad.

Spin Me Round is an excellent showcase for Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza’s talents, but its story unfortunately fizzles out into sheer predictability.