Swingers (Miramax Collector's Series)

Swingers (Miramax Collector's Series)
by Doug Liman, Nicholas Goodman

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DVD details

Actor: Chris Cox, Georgia Anghela, Heather Graham, Matt Sloan, Vince Vaughn
Director: Doug Liman, Nicholas Goodman
Brand: FAVREAU,JOHN
Writer: Chris Cox
Writer: Matt Sloan
Writer: Darren Des Voigne
Producer: Avram Ludwig
Producer: Bradford L. Schlei
Writer: Jon Favreau
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-09-24
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax Home Entertainment

DVD Reviews of Swingers (Miramax Collector's Series)

DVD Review: Okay, but didn't live up to the hype
Summary: 3 Stars

After all the hype I'd heard about it, and being something of a fan of Vince Vaughn, I decided to watch this movie. It's okay, but as my tag line says, it just didn't live up to all the hype. I'd also grown up in L.A. so the setting had some hometown resonance, but even that wasn't enough to enliven it much for me.

None of the male characters manages to engage your sympathy, and the dialog, which I guess is supposed to be some sort of 90s era ultra-cool L.A. argot, doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard. And even if it was, it doesn't add much to the movie, which would have been more effective if the dialog was written with more normal-sounding speech. If you want to hear great inner-city dialog, try "The Sweet Smell of Success," written by the great Clifford Odets, which takes place in New York City, and was written way back in the 50s.

After a trip to Las Vegas gets the movie going, the story mainly involves a hapless bunch of unsuccessful and out of work twenty-something guys who wander from one L.A. party or pickup joint to the next as they try to get laid, desperately looking for downwardly mobile girls who will basically take pity on them. None do, at least none of the attractive or pretty ones. No surprise there.

Too much of the movie is taken up with the main character's pining away for his lost love, which would have been fine for 5 or 10 minutes, but to continually dwell on it for most of the movie again doesn't add much to the story and after a while just becomes tedious and boring. While we have all been through periods like this in our lives, I don't need to see it again in a move that I'm paying my hard earned bucks for.

The comradery shown in the movie between the friends is one of the few things that did strike a sympathetic cord, as the friends of the lovelorn Favreau character try to snap him out of his romantic funk with their rapid-fire tour of L.A.'s storied singles scene. Other than that, I didn't find a whole lot that grabbed me in the movie.

If you're a Vince Vaughn fan this movie might be worth your while as an example of his earlier work, or if the youth culture and singles scene of 90s-era L.A. interests you. Other than that I didn't find much of interest here.

DVD Review: Classic Guys Flix
Summary: 5 Stars

Vintage Vince Vaughn doing what he does best, comedy. The tale of guys and their relationship (or lack their of) on the West Coast tackling the drama and absurdity of it. Must have in any guys collection.

DVD Review: Fell asleep
Summary: 1 Stars

Had to shut this one off after watching about half of it. I'd seen it before and really was bored. My partner did not like it either. It's too slow and too too suave if not overtly stupid.

DVD Review: 2.5 stars out of 4
Summary: 3 Stars

The Bottom Line:

Except for introducing the Vince Vaughn stock character who we're all getting sick of, Swingers is notable for very little; a forgettable film with no real plot thrust and little interesting character interaction, Swingers is really not worth watching, much less purchasing.

DVD Review: Skips Galore
Summary: 1 Stars

I have never before ordered a DVD that skipped or had any other problems. So I carelessly threw away the receipt before giving this one as a birthday present. Unfortunately it was hardly payable. It skipped repeatedly and the screen froze. Now i will have to find another copy. I'll never throw away a receipt again!

Description of Swingers (Miramax Collector's Series)

Hip and hilarious -- critics and audiences alike are raving about this must-see comedy hit! It's a laugh-out-loud look at a fun group of friends who spend their days looking for work and their nights in and out of Hollywood's coolest after-hours hangouts! When the lovesick Mike (Jon Favreau -- RUDY) can't seem to shake a relationship rut, his smooth, fast-talking buddy Trent (Vince Vaughn -- THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK 2) decides he'll do whatever it takes to show Mike a good time! Whether laughing over martinis in smoky cocktail lounges ... or searching for beautiful babes on an outrageous road trip to Vegas, these young swingers are determined to rewrite the rules of modern dating! Also starring Heather Graham (AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME).

For anyone who wants to catch a glimpse of the Los Angeles "lounge" scene that was in vogue during the early and mid-1990s, here's the movie that virtually defined that brief but colorful nightlife milieu. As an added bonus, it just happens to be a very funny, observant story about love, loss, and male bonding among a group of friends who struggle to find decent jobs by day, and lurk through Hollywood's hottest nightclubs by night. A sort of latter-day Rat Pack, they include Mike (writer-actor Jon Favreau) and his closest buddy, Trent (Vince Vaughn), who are waiting for the big show-biz break that seems to be eluding them. Mike's twisted up about the girlfriend he left back East to pursue his going-nowhere standup comedy career, and Trent uses the word "money" as an adjective ("Man, we look totally money tonight") with such frequency that you may find yourself slipping into lounge-lizard mode after watching the movie. One of the most noteworthy indie-film success stories of the '90s, this time-capsule comedy seized its moment in the spotlight, launched several promising careers, and continues to maintain its lasting appeal. --Jeff Shannon

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