Swingers (1996)

I really don't understand why so many people think this movie is fun. I thought it absolutely boring, annoying and utterly tedious. After plodding through the first 30 minutes or so I zapped to some of the remaining scenes in the hope to catch at least one funny moment, but nothing there, so I switched it off. I will now write this review and then erase it from my memory forever.

This is not a film but an extended sitcom episode full of the worst of the genre. The only reason I give it more than 1 star is that Thank God at least they didn't include canned laughter.

The characters are ultra boring, their conversations are empty, flat, repetitive, decidedly non-funny, and annoying to the point where you cover your ears to avoid screaming . There is no plot, no development, no humour whatsoever. Just to take the Vegas casino scene - it is so predictable, so obvious, so slow, so pathetic in its painful attempts to scream in our faces 'Look How Funny I Am!' that I felt personally insulted. And all that after first having to sit through an endless scene where the guys sit in the car on the road to Vegas and basically do nothing else but repeat the word 'Vegas' a million time in the same droning voices. Yeah, I really needed to see that.

Is this humour? It feels more like a permanent hangover. Get a life.

fG

Fmovies: Swingers is just about the coolest film on the planet. It's so laid back it's horizontal. There aren't enough words in a thesaurus to describe how good this movie is! Watch and enjoy. The direction from Doug Liman is awesome and the acting matches. It's funny but not in your face, it's hip but doesn't care and it just makes for a great picture. Heather Graham looks gorgeous at the end as an added bonus for the guys too!

I chanced upon Swigers one evening after reading an article on writer/star Jon Favreau, and trying to figure out which character he played in Friends (it's Pete Becker by the way); don't you love it when you uncover a gem. From the opening credits, set to Dean Martin crooning "You're Nobody Until Somebody Loves You", I knew that this film was the very personification of cool, spawning one of the coolest characters in any film...ever, that being Trent Walker played by Vince Vaughn, with a swinging soundtrack and a real sense of fun which you don't often get in mainstream Hollywood; and this film is effortless in a way which Tarantino could only dream about.

The story centres around Favreau's loser-in-love Mikey, trying to make a living as an actor in L.A after leaving his long-term girlfriend behind in New York. His best buddy, Trent, tries incessantly to get Mikey back 'into the game' so to speak; cue a trawl around L.A's hippest night-spots, some hilarious insight into dating rituals (when is it cool to call? 2 days?), and a trip to Las Vegas in which Trent tries to 'pull a Fredo' (bedding cocktail waitresses two at a time). The central duo are ably supported by a cast of lovable rogues, all intent on getting laid.

Doug Liman directs in a laid-back manner, befitting of the film, and Favreau's script (based on Vaughn and himself) is full of witty insights and in-jokes, as well as enough movie references to keep everyone happy.

Although the characters are almost impossibly cool, they never appear obnoxious due to the over-riding sense that they are just a bunch of lovable losers trying to con their way into the beds of L.A's female population; sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, and there is a certain sweetness added by Favreau's predicament. The pay-off is cool, Favreau finally 'getting digits' and we are left with a role-reversal between the two main protagonists as Trent makes a fool of himself with a woman in the closing scene.

Altogether a classy, breezy, often hilarious film, a certain cult classic, and a fine addition to the date movie genre.

Swingers fmovies. This film could prove that nice guys "don't" finish last. A truly great and funny movie. The movie is basically about getting a nightlife, friendship and picking up girls. The movie centers on Mike (Jon Favreau). A very brave but not cocky young man who constantly dwells on his ex-girlfriend and unsuccessfully attempts to rekindle his love life. Trent (Vince Vaughn) is always there to give him encouragement and inspiration. In someways Trent is the star of this movie. He has a strong screen presence and is extremely funny.

This movie teaches us to always double down on an eleven in black jack and how many days to wait before you call the girl for the first time. The greatest scene in this movie has to be when Trent and Sue are talking to Mike in the lounge and are trying to encourage Mike to ask a girl at the bar for her phone number. The "big bad bear and little bunny" analogy they use is hilarious.

You have to feel happy for Mike when he meets Lorraine (Heather Graham) at the end of the movie. We see Trent and Sue watching their buddy in amazement but we know that they are truly proud of him. Mike really was money and he didn't even know it.

"The point is, Mike, that it all depends on how you look at it."

Swingers is the quintessential guy movie. Not to say that a woman won't enjoy it, or that it's a stereotypical collection of all the things that men are supposed to love in movies, like a non-stop testosterone-fueled orgy of naked women, explosions, and violence. 

Nope, Swingers is the quintessential guy movie because almost every guy can relate to at least part of it at some time during his life. The uncertainty about your career, the lingering pain of losing a girlfriend you truly loved, the camaraderie (and annoyances) of your friends, the frustrating world of dating and the games and "rules" that come along with it, and the feeling of that moment when you finally realize that your life can go on without that other person it revolved around so long.

The story focuses on Mike (Jon Favreau), an aspiring comedian in Los Angeles who has recently gone through a break-up with his long-term girlfriend back east, and his group of friends. Most of whom try to help Mike get over his break-up by meeting women in and around L.A. and Las Vegas. Especially his two best friends, ladies man Trent (Vince Vaughn) and Rob (Ron Livingston)  Most of the movie follows the group on their nightly romps through the city, or Mike as he struggles with the loss of the relationship that he was very much invested in.

I enjoyed the casual conversations the guys had about women, video games, their job efforts, and other things. Swingers really nailed the dynamics of how guys act with each other.

It's also pretty funny, though it's not a total comedy by any means. A lot of the humor derives from Mike's painful attempts to talk to women, after six long years off the market. There's a really hysterical sequence about Mike and a woman's answering machine later in the movie that will have you howling. 

I got the sense that Swingers is the kind of movie that holds up well after repeated viewings, and maybe even gets better. It's not amazing, or anything like that, but it is hard to imagine anyone (especially guys aged 20-29) not appreciating it.

Upon hearing about this movie from friends, I was told that it was "money". They were right. This is "so money and they don't even know it." Entertaining comedy about letting go, and finding new romance and who your real friends are. Enough one-liners to quote for years, friends still quote it today! Nothing but beautiful babies, and a great upbeat soundtrack to get you dancing!