Swingers Movie Review

One of the most sincere and earnest looks into single life in the 90s, Swingers is nothing but -- in the terms of its resident lounge lizards -- money.

You've probably seen print ads, movie reviews, and the like, portraying Swingers as a film about a bunch of suave and sexy guys, making the moves on the pretty babies (aka women) in the nightlife of La-La land. The title's double entendre doesn't help matters, either, so let me set the record straight.

Swingers is about a bunch of guys in L.A., yes, but they aren't overly suave, with the exception of Trent (the hysterically funny Vince Vaughn), who lives in an apparent fantasy world of Clockwork Orangey faux-English doublespeak. His best friend is Mike (Jon Favreau, who also wrote the script), a down-and-out actor/comedian suffering over the breakup with his girlfriend of six years. Rob (Ron Livingston) and Sue (is in "a boy named Sue," Patrick Van Horn) are both actors/losers also.

Weaving through Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Trent, Mike, and their friends turn out to pretty much be high-talkers and low-rollers, about like everyone else. We see that these are regular guys, each with his own demons, each as insecure as you and me. But they talk a big game.

Sound familiar? In the end, Swingers perfectly humanizes its players, makes a touching statement about getting back on your feet after love knocks you down, and, most importantly, comes off as really, really, really funny. Favreau and director Doug Liman are sure to hit the big time after this, and Vaughn (who's already been picked to star in Jurassic Park 2 ought to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination, at least.

Swingers is one of those very rare movies where you really come out a changed, happier person -- at least for awhile. Hey, maybe I'm money, and I don't even know it!

Swingers finally gets the special edition DVD treatment with a Collector's Edition that includes a number of highlights. The alternate takes of various scenes are priceless -- including a deleted kiss scene between Favreau and Graham and a beautiful moment during Vaughn's "ya grows up" scene in which he dances around like a little girl. Four solid documentaries outline the road Swingers took to get produced, and the laugh-riot short film Swingblade (a hybrid of Swingers and Sling Blade) caps off the night. Highly recommended.



Hey, can't we both be money?