Review of Swingers (1996) by Jennifer A — 07 Oct 2009

A classic tale of friendship - liquor-fueled, motormouthed, horny friendship.

Mike (Jon Favreau), an aspiring actor and comedian, is recovering from the breakup of a six year relationship after moving to L.A. to pursue his dreams of being an entertainer. To aid - or, in some cases, hinder - him in his recovery are his comrades-in-similar-circumstances, including Rob (Ron Livingston), a fellow transplant from back East, and Trent (Vince Vaughn), a fast talking, self-confident player. Assuring him he is "so money and [he doesn't] even know it," Mike's friends try to get him back on the horse when it comes to women.

Usually, this leads to disaster.

It's interesting to see future Hollywood heavy-hitters like Vaughn and Favreau acting in a low-budget, pre-fame movie. Both leads are nicely non-glamorous, shirking the limelight they have found as A-listers to give rounded, vulnerable performances.

The pacing, however, suffers, with most scenes moving through a protracted, monotonous "go-to-party, leave-party, meet-girl, lose-girl" setup. Blame director Doug Liman, Hollywood' premier crafter of lame, badly paced films with concepts both high and low.