SWINGERS

"SWINGERS"
(1996) (Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	None	Mild	Minor	Mild

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	None	Mild	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	Heavy	None	Minor	Mild

QUICK TAKE:: Comedy: Friends of a guy, who still can't get over breaking up with his girlfriend, try to break him out of the funk he's in.

PLOT:: Mike (JON FAVREAU) is a fledgling actor/comedian who's arrived in L.A. seeking fame and fortune. He's also trying to get over the fact that his girlfriend, Michelle, dumped him months ago. But he can't get over her and he compulsively checks his answering machine for any message from her. His friends can't stand this, so they try to get him back out into the real world. Trent (VINCE VAUGHN), his best friend, takes him to Las Vegas for a little gambling and to meet some women. When that doesn't work out, his other single, dateless, and aspiring actor friends, Rob (RON LIVINGSTON), Sue (PATRICK VAN HORN) and Charles (ALEX DESERT), take him out to the bars and swing clubs hoping that he'll find someone who will make him forget about Michelle. With all of their rules about returning calls to women and pick up lines, his friends are as pitiful as he is, but eventually things begin to change for him.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Young kids won't, but older teens just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language throughout.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: JON FAVREAU plays a bumbling, single guy who's so insecure he ends up sabotaging nearly every effort he makes to meet someone new. His only vices appear to be drinking and smoking.
VINCE VAUGHN plays his buddy who takes Mike to Vegas to "get laid" (but isn't successful). He also drinks and smokes and calls women "babies," a derivation of "babe."; VINCE VAUGHN plays his buddy who takes Mike to Vegas to "get laid" (but isn't successful). He also drinks and smokes and calls women "babies," a derivation of "babe."

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 8 out of 10: If a big screen version of the TV show "Friends" were to be made, focusing solely on the guys and allowing them to curse like sailors, you'd have this movie. This film, however, is much funnier and emotionally deeper than its small screen cousin. The dialogue is witty, the characters are richly drawn, and their stumbling and bumbling with the opposite sex can be appreciated by nearly everyone. It's almost as if the guys were high schoolers (or maybe middle schoolers) by the way they wonder if a woman is looking their way, and telling their friends not to look over at her, etc.... Audiences will begin to root for Michael in a big way to finally overcome his devotion to his ex-girlfriend and to get on with his life. The movie is full of sweet surprises (with some fun film homages), big laughs, decent performances, and we heartily enjoyed it. And if you don't mind the excessive swearing and the little bit of sex in it, you will too. We give it an 8 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: As said above, this movie is like a big screen version of TV's "Friends" and is more geared for an adult audience. Profanity is extreme (with nearly 100 "f" words) and both smoking and drinking are heavy. Other than one mild scene, sex is referred to only in the dialogue. Both parents and older teens will feel for the main character who has been dumped and is trying to date other people but is awkward at doing so. If your teens are mature enough for the language and other material, this may be an okay movie for them. As always, however, we suggest you read through every scene listing before allowing children to see this film.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Many people (men and women) are seen smoking and drinking inside bars and parties throughout the movie which includes most of the main cast.
There's a rock song (from the group "Heart") with the phrase, "Let's get high a while..."
A swing song has the phrase: "Gin and tonic sounds mighty good to me" and "You and me and a bottle makes three."
Trent and Sue are getting drunk in a bar watching Mike finally hit it off with a woman. Later they're seen in a diner and are acting drunk and Trent ends up standing on the table, shouting at the top of his lungs.

BLOOD/ GORE: None.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Trent refers to women as "honey babes" or "babies."
Mike refers to some woman as "skanks."
A woman at a Beverly Hills party snubs Mike after she asks what kind of car he drives and he says "a cavalier."
Trent tears up a woman's number after she's given it to him (he didn't like her because she talked too much).

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES: The guys accidentally bump into some other guys in a parking lot. Words and profanities are exchanged and then violence seems imminent when Sue pulls out a handgun, but the others run away.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handgun: Pulled out by Sue and aimed at some locals who've become threatening after the guys accidentally bumped into them. The locals run away and that's the end of the gun use.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Trent urinates on the side of the road on the way back to LA, but only his upper body is seen.
Phrases: "Nasty Shanks," "Horny *ssholes," "Fag," "Screw up," "Shut up," "Suck," "Bitch" (not referring to women), "Bitch slap," and "Balls."

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): There's a rock song (from the group "Heart") with the phrase, "Let's get high a while..."
Another song, "Brick house" has the phrase, "...she's letting it all hang out..."
A swing song has the phrase: "Gin and tonic sounds mighty good to me" and "You and me and a bottle makes three."
Another song has the phrase: "I never made love by (lantern?) light..."

PROFANITY: 93 "f" words (2 used sexually, 3 with the prefix "mother"), 26 "s" words, 15 "ass" words, 9 hells, 2 slang terms for male genitals (the "d" word), 1 slang term for female genitals (the "p" word), 2 damns, and 5 uses each of "Jesus Christ" and "Swear to God," 4 uses of "Oh God," 2 uses each of "Jesus" and "God" and 1 use of "Christ" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Trent tells Mike that they're "gonna get laid" in Las Vegas.
The phrase "jump your ignorant bones" is heard about a waitress and Mike in Las Vegas.
Mike and Trent accompany a casino waitress and her friend back to their trailer. Trent and the waitress go into other room and start passionately kissing. He's seen on top of her between her spread legs. Mike then knocks on their door. Trent hands out a condom to him (thinking that's what he wants), but Mike says he has to use the phone. Trent comes out dressed in just a towel and she's in a long shirt. Nothing else happens and there's no nudity or sexual movement.
Mike, referring to the waitress' friend who was dressed up like Dorothy from the "Wizard of Oz," says, "That whole Judy Garland thing kinda turned me on. Does that make me a fag?"
After his friends get after him about calling a woman, Mike jokingly says he'll call her and ask if they "f*cked."
Sue asks Mike when he last "got laid."

SMOKING: Many people (men and women) are seen smoking and drinking inside bars and parties throughout the movie which includes most of the main cast.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Dating and the end of relationships and then getting on with new ones.

VIOLENCE: Two guys wrestle on the floor of an apartment after one of them started a video hockey game while the other wasn't looking.
Mike exaggerates as he describes Charles as a guy who can be mean and who one time took a man and bashed his mouth into a curb over and over again.
The guys accidentally bump into some other guys in a parking lot. Words and profanities are exchanged and then violence seems imminent when Sue pulls out a handgun, but the others run away.

Reviewed October 17, 1996

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