SWINGERS 1996
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
2 :-) :-) for finding love
In this tale about human mating rituals, we have the scenario of a down and out comedian in L.A. who has recently been dumped by his long time lover and is wallowing with depression. His juvenile friends, despite being childish and irresponsible attempt to cheer him up by getting him up and out to mingle with society. This is a good idea, but becomes annoying when they give him mostly wrong advice. Advice like you can't call someone out for a date until 2 days post first meeting. Leaving it for several weeks is a better option. Or you need to look cool, be slightly arrogant and throw money about for people to notice you.
Yes, people will start noticing you, all the wrong sorts. For this lonely, otherwise pleasant young man he seems to be searching for the right woman in all the wrong places i.e. bars, night clubs etc. Places conducive for sex, drugs and alcohol but not ideal for a generating a more lasting union. So night after night he searches for true love, toddling behind his high ‘swinging' friends whose main intent is to get laid, whilst he is searching for a more meaningful relationship. My advice to him is to look for love elsewhere. He stands a better chance of finding a prospective partner who hasn't slept with all his friends and a hundred different people let's say at a church picnic. The crowd that haunts the night scene is also a festering pool of crime, suicide and sexually transmitted diseases waiting to happen. When one gets older this lifestyle loses its charm because it is based on youth, good looks and vitality. When these virtues disappear it becomes evident how ‘rootless' this way of life truly is.
This movie makes a good study about the evolving rituals of courting in late 20th century males. Where the subject matter, a man in his twenties unexpectedly finds love in a bar. He takes a chance by not following the usual conventions described to him by his friends. It also makes a good study on resisting peer group pressure and making your own stance and decisions in life. I was very proud of him when he actually decided not to force himself on the girl after their first meeting, and remained a gentleman throughout the encounter. This is a movie I started out hating because of all the misconceived notions it suggests about courting, but ended up liking because it declared how wrong these notions were.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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