Spread 2009

Nikki is a narcissistic gigolo living in Los Angeles, drifting from one relationship to another without a steady job or a place to live. He preys on women who can provide for him, using his looks and charm to keep them satisfied. After meeting Samantha at a club, he moves in with her, cementing a volatile arrangement where affection is entangled with manipulation and money.

He quickly turns to cheating, first with his friend Emily, then with Christina, whom he meets at another party. Emily disapproves of Nikki’s free-wheeling lifestyle and longs for a real relationship, but Nikki’s interest lies more in wealth than in commitment. Samantha catches him with Christina, yet they strike an uneasy compromise in which she agrees to overlook his infidelity for the moment.

While Samantha is away, Nikki encounters a waitress named Heather. He enlists his friend Harry to help him win her over, but she resists his tactics and does not fall for his usual charms. Although he eventually secures a date, Heather abandons him midway through the evening. That early sting foreshadows a surprising turn: Heather later appears in Samantha’s pool, and the two women end up having sex.

The morning after, Nikki discovers Heather’s car is not hers but belongs to her “boyfriend”—a detail she had given him while insisting she was single. He ejects her in anger, yet the encounter lingers in his mind. The fixation strains Samantha, who eventually ejects him again, only to take him back soon after. Yet Nikki leaves on his own accord, still captivated by Heather.

Struggling to find a place to stay, Nikki clashes with Harry, faces rejection from Emily, and finds it harder to re-enter the party scene. He runs into Heather at a fancy hotel, where she confesses she pursued him partly because she believed he was wealthy. It turns out Heather is playing the same game Nikki does: she scams rich men for money, and she lets him move in with her along with her stoner roommate Eva. The relationship evolves into a romance, though Heather’s hustle continues, with Nikki sometimes aiding her reluctantly.

One day, Heather reveals she has just broken up with her fiancé because she is in love with Nikki. She also tells him that her fiancé’s family owns the New York Rangers and has been paying her bills. Though Nikki has fallen for her too, he grows angry that she kept him in the dark about the engagement, and he leaves in a huff. When he returns, he finds only a note saying she has left for New York City. Following Heather’s departure, Eva urges him to chase her, and Harry helps with airfare.

Nikki tracks Heather to a luxurious penthouse in New York and pleads for a second chance to return to Los Angeles. She refuses, explaining that she cannot chase his fantasies while she secures the funds they would need to live. He asks for another chance, but she reveals she is already married, breaking his heart. Heather explains that she cannot divorce because she needs financial stability, and she dismisses Nikki by presenting him as a grocery boy.

Returning to Los Angeles, Nikki begins to see that life is worth the struggle. He takes an honest job delivering groceries and reconnects with Harry. He eventually delivers to Samantha’s house, where they are encountered by the kept man who has replaced him. The film closes with the credits showing Nikki feeding a dead mouse to Harry’s African bullfrog, a vivid image that lingers as the frog slowly swallows the tail.