Joe met Jen at a club last night and is now trying to screw up the courage to call her. Eventually, after a bizarre and totally off-putting montage showing Joe repeatedly calling for her, finding she’s not home, and calling her again using a variety of different and increasingly freaky personalities, he learns that she’s doing laundry at a nearby laundromat. He goes there and, after a brief and awkward conversation through the bathroom door — Joe’s a bit of an odd guy — begins his pursuit of Jen in earnest.
He’s not fighting this battle alone, however. Three laundromat denizens are more than willing to offer their advice and wisdom. There’s the misogynisticcreep who claims to have “bagged over 500 babes” and has the tally marks tattooed on his torso to prove it. Then there’s the creepy old witch who offers him a magical elixir that’s sure to win Jen over. Finally, there’s the crusty old timer who donates a book on romancing women. Needless to say, Joe soon realizes that whether he succeeds or fails in winning Jen’s heart, it’s something he’ll have to do on his own.
Once “Spin Cycle” gets past that irritating opening sequence, it’s actually a pretty entertaining little film. Director David Kolodny-Nagy turns an ordinary laundromat into a romantic house of horrors through some highly creative shot selection and even more effective editing. It’s actually a nice irony that he was able to set this film in a laundromat, given that some laundromats essentially operate as singles bars these days.
Jen is cute but a little mousy. Joe’s an extroverted wild man. Throw their dainties together in a washing machine that runs through the “Spin Cycle,” and, as this film shows, anything is possible.
