Swingers (Miramax Collector's Series)
by Doug Liman
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DVD details
Actor: Heather Graham, Jon Favreau, Patrick Van Horn, Ron Livingston, Vince VaughnDirector: Doug Liman
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, 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: Small budget + big heart=Swingers
Summary: 4 Stars
There aren't many movies that belong in any respectable DVD collection, but Swingers should be an no-brainer of a pick, especially for those of the male persuasion. This movie was made ten years ago for the staggeringly low sum of about $250,000 (more than Clerks, but about a quarter percent of what Terminator 2 cost), but it ended up being yet another of Miramax's independent success stories, and even now it's easy to see why. This may not be the ultimate guy movie, but it's close, as it packs a heavy emotional punch without ever becoming schmaltzy or manipulative. It's paced at breakneck speed, edited and directed with ruthless efficiency, and utterly unpolished in appearance (in their commentary track, the director and editor basically admit they barely knew how to make a movie at the time), but that's all part of Swingers's relaxed, almost improvised charm.
While it may breeze by in a mere 95 minutes, Swingers is successfully largely because it's packed almost to bursting with brilliant dialogue. This is, simply put, one of the most quotable movies of the 1990's, right up there with Goodfellas, The Big Lebowski, and Office Space (in fact, a couple years ago Bill Simmons, aka ESPN.com's Sports Guy, used quotes from this movie for his team-by-team NFL preview). The characters basically use their own language, which may well be how L.A.-area lounge-lizard types actually talk for all this reviewer knows ("Dude, you are so f***ing money" being a typical line), but the central ideas of the movie come across easily regardless of the lingo they're conveyed in. In sharp contrast to the generally loathsome teen dramedies that started coming out just a couple years after this movie's release, Swingers is that rare comedy that never takes the low road and panders to its audience; instead it plays it cool throughout and offers up plenty of humanity to go with its humor. It is hysterically funny, but like great comedies from Better Off Dead to Clerks to Sideways, it's funny partly because it's rooted in a reality that's often no laughing matter. There's one scene in particular that sums up the movie, when Jon Favreau's protagonist Mike keeps leaving increasingly uncomfortable early-morning phone messages for a woman he's just met in a bar until she eventually gets on the phone and tells him never to call her again. Sparsely lit and painfully drawn-out, it's hilarious and agonizing to watch all at the same time. It's one of several scenes throught the movie where I felt somewhat guilty about laughing but laughed just the same.
At bottom, Swingers has such enduring appeal because of the contradiction at its core: it's a movie about serious subjects (lost love, male friendship, the struggle to find oneself), but it never really lets on that it's about anything serious, instead letting the viewers figure it out for themselves. Beneath all the humor, of which there is a great deal, Swingers is about people who have hit their mid-20's and found that everything isn't quite as they thought it would be. In another telling segment, the movie's two main characters hop in the car for an impromptu trip to Vegas, but their excitement gradually fades on the long drive from L.A., and the situation doesn't improve when their casino experience turns out to be far less glamorous than anticipated. This scene (actually about a quarter of the movie) provides a neat metaphor for the overarching theme of Swingers: we all have big dreams at one point or another, but reality often fails to measure up. There are legions of such people out there, and my guess is most can find something to relate to in Mike (played note-perfectly by Favreau, who also wrote the movie). The movie's opening finds Mike struggling to get over his ex-girlfriend six months after their breakup, going nowhere in his standup career, and deep into a spiral of despair and desperation. Sadly, we've all known at least one guy like Mike, the sensitive type who eventually winds up retreating into negativity and self-pity when things aren't going their way.
While Mike is ultimately the central figure, Swingers is nothing if not an ensemble movie, and it's populated by a cast of well-drawn, believable, and decidedly funny characters. Mike is joined in his personal and professional struggles by Trent (Vince Vaughn), Rob (Ron Livingston), Sue (Patrick Van Horn), and Charles (Alex Desert), all of whom have found themselves in basically the same boat. They hit a series of trendy clubs and parties throughout the movie, but remain virtual nobodies on the fringe of the local scene. These guys are, for lack of a better word, a bunch of tools, but they're likeable for precisely that reason. Beneath their hip exteriors, they're just struggling actors with no girlfriends, and the cast obviously has a lot of fun playing characters who aren't to be taken in any way seriously. Vaughn is especially indelible in the role of Trent, the ultimate wannabe hipster, right down to his dapper appearance and frequent use of Rat Pack-era slang. In lesser hands, Trent might come off as a laughable poser, but here he's given an undeniable depth and humanity because his overwhelming good intentions are always clearly visible.
As I've already mentioned, this movie was made for next to nothing, and it does show a great deal. The commentary tracks on this DVD (one with director Doug Liman and editor Steve Mirrione, the other with Favreau and Vaughn) highlight the myriad corners that were cut and cinematic "rules" that were broken due to budget constraints, but in the end it all works anyway. Swingers is wisely limited to a small scale, examining the immense difficulties and occasional victories that are a part of daily life, no matter where you live or what age you are. This fact, along with its hilarious script and sharp acting, combine to make a movie that's still utterly relevant ten years after its release. The term "classic" is thrown around way too often, but Swingers is one movie that definitely deserves the label.
Description of Swingers (Miramax Collector's Series)
This is a story about mike a guy who left his girl in new york when he came to la to be a star. Its been six months since his girlfriend left him and hes not doing so good. So his pal and some other friends try and get him back in the social scene and forget about his 6 year relationship. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 09/24/2002 Starring: Jon Favreau Ron Livingston Run time: 92 minutes Rating: R Director: Doug LimanBestsellers in DVD
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