Title: Spin Out
Director: Tim Ferguson, Marc Gracie
Writers: Edwina Exton, Tim Ferguson
Stars: Xavier Samuel, Morgan Griffin, Travis Jeffrey
Release Date: In cinemas 15th September 2016
Review by: Dave Griffiths
It is unlikely that any film will divide critics as much as new Australian comedy Spin Out. Some critics will see the film as a throwback to the golden days of Australian comedy when characters like Barry McKenzie packed out cinemas and it was okay to be politically incorrect. Others will see Spin Out as a depraved waste of cinema space.
Co-written and co-directed by Tim Ferguson (DAAS Kapital), Spin Out follows a group of friends who have grown up together in a country town. Among the group there is the ‘leader’ Billy (Xavier Samuel – Twilight: Eclipse) who has a crush on his best friend and ute-muster partner Lucy (Morgan Griffen – San Andreas)… not that he would ever admit it. Then there is the trusty wingman Sparrow McGee (Travis Jeffrey – Wolf Creek), who is too frightened to tell the rough and tough Mary (Melissa Bergland – Winners & Losers) that he is in love with her. The emotions come to the fore when the local ute muster and B&S Ball occur on the same day. And while the locals don’t want to admit their feelings city slickers Nic (Lincoln Lewis – Tomorrow When The Way Began) and Sasha (Christie Whelan – I Love You Too) arrive with sex and love on their minds.
While Spin Out might not necessarily be an award winner, it is a film that certainly deserves some credit. While at times the comedy goes too far and doesn’t work (think the mud wrestling scenes) there are times when this film is completely on-song. There are a few laughs here and there that hit the spot, but this is a film that really works when it focuses on the romance at hand and other serious issues facing young people living in country Australia these days.
Being set at a ute muster and B&S Ball instantly gives this film a unique feel that we haven’t seen on the big screen before, and the screenplay sets up Billy and Lucy as a couple that you want to succeed… the same goes for Sparrow and Mary (a couple too cute for words). The film really reaches its peak though when it starts exploring the issue that the friendship group is about to be torn apart by the fact that some of the youngsters plan on turning their back on their no-future country town and are heading to the city. It’s at times like that Spin Out becomes very real and poignant.
Perhaps what will make Spin Out a memorable film though is the young cast members that this will launch the careers off. While Xavier Samuel and Lincoln Lewis breeze their ways through the film, many of the film’s more comedic moments are stolen by Travis Jeffrey who makes this film his own. Meanwhile, Morgan Griffen reveals herself as a young actress with a big future ahead of her… as does Melissa Bergland who like Jeffrey steals many of the scenes that she is in.
Spin Out is a more than decent romantic comedy that raises so very interesting topics facing our country youth today. While the ‘ocker’ humor may not be everybody’s cup-of-tea, this is the kind of film that makes you want to jump in a ute and slam on some Aussie classics.
2.5 stars
