Swingers - Review

As I am writing this review, I leave for Las Vegas, Nevada tomorrow. So in preparation for my first trip to Vegas, I looked up, "Best Vegas films." I had seen most of the big ones like Ocean's Eleven, Casino, Fool's Rush In (Okay, that one isn't very popular) but one film that popped out to me was Swingers, and here we are.

This is a film that many guys (okay, let's be real here. All straight men) can relate to. Getting together with your buddies for a pre-drinking session to play some NHL video games, then all go to the bar with the single motivation to find that 10/10 smoke show at the bar, and 9 times out of 10 getting rejected.

Has this ever happened to you dude? Well, first off I would say that I know how you feel, and secondly, I would recommend watching this movie. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau have great chemistry together and are extremely relatable. In every group of guys, there is always that one guy who is hung up on an ex-girlfriend and is just getting back into the game and his desperation can be smelt miles away (Jon Favreau's Mike) and to juxtapose that, there is always that one guy that seems like he can do no wrong when it comes to women. Always knowing what to say and how to say it, knowing the perfect techniques of seduction and attraction and sees himself as this wise master of the game and tries to take his young learners under his wing (Vince Vaughn's Trent).

These two types of characters are prevalent in every bar around the world and it makes for some great comedy. Jon Favreau is a great writer of comedy like that and it shows in this movie. Whether it be doubling down in a casino only to lose your entire budget on one hand, or getting a girl's number and calling her two hours later only for her answering machine to run out, so you call again, and again, and again. Don't worry folks, I didn't spoil all the jokes for you. There are plenty more. It's that kind of dry humor that is so hilarious in its quirky awkward nature.

The only downside of this movie is that starts off really strong. Vince Vaughn's Trent calls up Jon Favreau's Mike to get him to go to Las Vegas for a night in order to "meet all the honey's" and it seems like the movie is going to be firing A+ jokes and comedy throughout the entire thing. However, I was quick to realize that I was laughing extremely hard at the beginning of this movie but I was actually getting rather bored near the end. Now don't get me wrong, I love going out to bars and talking to women as much as the next guy, but how long can we really push that envelope? While funny at first, the film doesn't give us anything new or exciting to sink our teeth into for the rest of the movie.

However, this isn't enough for me to hate the movie or even say "don't watch it." It merely means that the movie started off so strong that it was impossible for the movie to hold that momentum going forward. I also have to give the movie props for being as entertaining as it is on such a low budget. This film shows you that if you have likable characters and good writing, anything is possible. So for all you guys out there, this is a movie for you. Give it a shot!