Hauling his sentimental friend out of his postbreakup funk, a club-hopping swinger takes him on a hilarious odyssey through the dating game of the 1990s, hitting the Vegas strip, fashionable martini lounges, and other modern hunting grounds of the opposite sex.
SWINGERS follows insecure Mike and smooth-talking Trent, two retro-hip showbiz wanna-bes, as they make the scene at various clubs in Hollywood and Vegas. During their martini-fueled odyssey, the duo and their buddies explore an altogether new vernacular while struggling with images of machismo, self-esteem, relationships, and, of course, sex. Lead actor Jon Favreau based the script on his and his friends' real-life Tinseltown adventures.
Theatrical release: October 18, 1996.
Jon Favreau appeared on an episode of THE SOPRANOS playing himself; Christopher talks to him about the making of SWINGERS and hands the actor-writer a script.
Marty & Elayne appear as themselves at the Dresden, a gig they have had for many, many years.
Produced by Independent Pictures.
Color by DeLuxe.
Shown at the Telluride Film Festival September 1, 1996.
Shown at the 1996 Venice Film Festival.
Additional cast: Deena Martin, Katherine Kendall, Brooke Langton and Blake Lindsley.
Additional credits: Julianne Kelley (music supervisor), Brad Halvorson (production designer), Genevieve Tyrrell (costume designer), Bradford L. Schlei & Avram Ludwig (associate producers) and Nicole Shay LaLoggia (line producer).
Excerpt: "You're money."--phrase bandied about among the friends
Distributor Notes: Swingers
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).
Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Cameo
Marty & Elayne: Los Angeles lounge singers
Review 1:
"...Writing, directing and acting are all pitch-perfect in a party movie that keeps spinning funny, sexy and touching surprises..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.78 10/31/1996
Review 2:
"...Sweet and funny....SWINGERS is a winningly confident snapshot of the nightlives of a bunch of young showbiz wannabes....Engaging, refreshingly human in its humor and becomingly modest in its aspirations..."
Source: Variety
09/09/1996
Review 3:
"Favreau's script crackles with sharply amusing, endlessly quotable dialogue..."
Source: Uncut
p.137 07/01/2005
Review 4:
"...Terrific....[Liman scores] from Favreau's exuberantly witty script....[Vaughn is] a scene-stealer..." -- Rating: A
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.46 11/01/1996
Review 5:
"...A guy film that gives you something to latch onto....Ruefully funny and unpretentious, with an air of relaxed and confident hipness, SWINGERS is helped along by a clever script and the not surprising fondness it feels for its characters..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.F1 10/18/1996
Review 6:
"Liman's very quotable debut offsets its outer hipness with a compassion for its characters' vulnerabilities."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.86 07/01/2005
Review 7:
"...The movie is sweet, funny, observant and goofy..."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
p.39 10/25/1996