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Swingers (1996)
Some clever writing and some charismatic performances make up for some of the dated elements of a 1996 comedy called Swingers that looks at the battle of the sexes and how sometimes friendship is more important.
Jon Favreau, who also wrote the screenplay, plays Mike, an aspiring comedian who has moved to LA after breaking up with his girlfriend, Michelle six months ago. As hard as he's tried, Mike is still smarting from the breakup, but is surrounded by a small circle of buddies who want to help him get through it. Trent is the friend who pretends to care on the surface, but is really just relishing the opportunity to have Mike be Trent's wing man; Rob is an aspiring actor who has just lost a job to play Goofy at DIsneyland who really knows where Mike's head is at, but is too obsessed with his own career; Sue (his father was a big Johnny Cash fan) understands what Mike is going through but is tired of his whining and Charles thinks the answer to Mike's problem is non-stop partying.
Favreau has put together a very clever screenplay that borrows from other stories but has equal amounts of originality to balance it out, We completely relate to his main character Mike and see that none of his friends really understand what he's going through but they all really mean well. Trent and Mike's trip to Vegas brought to mind Oscar and Felix's blind date with the Piegon sisters in The Odd Couple, but his golf game and his advice from Rob regarding Michelle felt original because we learn earlier in the film fro Trent how Mike acted at the beginning of the breakup but Rob is the only one who seemed to remember halfway through the movie.
The other thing I loved that Favreau did here was give this circle of friends their own brand of uniqueness by giving them their own language. They use certain words in certain ways that most people don't. Generally, in a story of this kind, women are usually referred to as babes or chicks, but in this movie they are referred to as "babies" and the word is used with a degree of reverence not usually associated with films like this. I also loved the very special meaning that Favreau gave to the word "money" in this movie, a meaning reserved fpr these very special friends and no one else. The film has several funny scenes, my favorite being Mike trying to leave a message on an answering machine to a girl he met in a bar.
Director Doug Liman gives the film a very voyeuristic quality with strong use of the tracking shot. There's even a scene where the principals are sitting around and discussing the classic tracking shot in Goodfellas. Favreau has rarely been so charming onscreen and receives solid support from Vince Vaughn as Trent and Ron Livingston as Rob. There is also a lovely cameo by Heather Graham near the end of the film that deserves mention. A pleasant surprise from the comic mind of Jon Favreau.
Some clever writing and some charismatic performances make up for some of the dated elements of a 1996 comedy called Swingers that looks at the battle of the sexes and how sometimes friendship is more important.
Jon Favreau, who also wrote the screenplay, plays Mike, an aspiring comedian who has moved to LA after breaking up with his girlfriend, Michelle six months ago. As hard as he's tried, Mike is still smarting from the breakup, but is surrounded by a small circle of buddies who want to help him get through it. Trent is the friend who pretends to care on the surface, but is really just relishing the opportunity to have Mike be Trent's wing man; Rob is an aspiring actor who has just lost a job to play Goofy at DIsneyland who really knows where Mike's head is at, but is too obsessed with his own career; Sue (his father was a big Johnny Cash fan) understands what Mike is going through but is tired of his whining and Charles thinks the answer to Mike's problem is non-stop partying.
Favreau has put together a very clever screenplay that borrows from other stories but has equal amounts of originality to balance it out, We completely relate to his main character Mike and see that none of his friends really understand what he's going through but they all really mean well. Trent and Mike's trip to Vegas brought to mind Oscar and Felix's blind date with the Piegon sisters in The Odd Couple, but his golf game and his advice from Rob regarding Michelle felt original because we learn earlier in the film fro Trent how Mike acted at the beginning of the breakup but Rob is the only one who seemed to remember halfway through the movie.
The other thing I loved that Favreau did here was give this circle of friends their own brand of uniqueness by giving them their own language. They use certain words in certain ways that most people don't. Generally, in a story of this kind, women are usually referred to as babes or chicks, but in this movie they are referred to as "babies" and the word is used with a degree of reverence not usually associated with films like this. I also loved the very special meaning that Favreau gave to the word "money" in this movie, a meaning reserved fpr these very special friends and no one else. The film has several funny scenes, my favorite being Mike trying to leave a message on an answering machine to a girl he met in a bar.
Director Doug Liman gives the film a very voyeuristic quality with strong use of the tracking shot. There's even a scene where the principals are sitting around and discussing the classic tracking shot in Goodfellas. Favreau has rarely been so charming onscreen and receives solid support from Vince Vaughn as Trent and Ron Livingston as Rob. There is also a lovely cameo by Heather Graham near the end of the film that deserves mention. A pleasant surprise from the comic mind of Jon Favreau.