Review of Swingers (1996) by Jonathan D — 26 Dec 2012

I loved Doug Liman's "Go", about teens involved in a drug deal gone bad, and "Swingers" is the film that put him on the map.

It's actually pretty raggedy, but often fun. Very loosely structured, it's about a moping wannabe comedian who wants to forget about his ex-girlfriend, and goes bar hopping with friends. Yep, it's that slight. The story shows what a bunch of dopes these guys are, especially when dealing with women. There's some good comedy there, but --- you know how it is when you see characters acting SO stupidly, you feel embarrassed for them, and have to remind yourself "it's only a movie". That happens a lot. You laugh and cringe at the same time.

I can't think of a time when I've seen a widely released movie that had so many fingerprints of a student film. There are two corny moments deliberately intended to quote key scenes from Reservoir Dogs and Goodfellas. I'm thinkin' - OK, very clever, but grow up.

Still - it's funny has some good performances by a very young Vince Vaughn, and even has a bit of heart.