Swingers | |
---|---|
Directed by | Doug Liman |
Written by | Jon Favreau |
Produced by | Victor Simpkins |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Doug Liman |
Edited by | Stephen Mirrione |
Music by | Justin Reinhardt |
Production companies | Independent Pictures Alfred Shay Productions |
Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $250,000 [2] |
Box office | $4.6 million [2] |
Swingers is a 1996 American buddy comedy film about the lives of single, unemployed swing dancers living on the 'eastside' of Hollywood, California, during the 1990s swing revival. Written by Jon Favreau and directed by Doug Liman, the film starred Favreau alongside Vince Vaughn, Ron Livingston, Patrick Van Horn, Alex Désert, and Heather Graham.
A critical and commercial hit, the film helped propel Favreau, Vaughn, Graham, and Livingston to stardom, while also launching Liman's directing career as he won the award for Best New Filmmaker at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards.
This film was rated #58 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". The film was honored on the 2007 Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards. In 2011, Empire magazine listed the film as #49 on its "50 Greatest American Independent Films" list. [3]
Mike Peters is a struggling comedian who left New York to find success in Los Angeles and is still upset over his girlfriend of six years, Michelle, breaking up with him six months prior. To help Mike with his depression, his womanizing friend Trent and some other aspiring actor friends try to get him back into the social scene.
The movie opens with Mike telling his friend Rob about how desperately he misses Michelle and that she has not called him. Rob explains that "somehow" women "know" not to call their ex-boyfriends until they have completely moved on from them.
To help Mike recover, Trent coaxes him into an impromptu trip to Las Vegas. Trent succeeds in picking up two waitresses, but Mike's obsession with Michelle ruins Trent's plans. The women seem interested, but Mike spoils the mood, telling his date about her.
Back in Los Angeles, Mike, Rob and other friends golf, play video games, and go out. All of them are trying to make it in the entertainment industry. Then they go bar hopping, stopping at a party, and later an after-hours spot, where Trent demonstrates his prowess in handling the opposite sex. Inspired by this, Mike meets a woman named Nikki and gets her phone number. His friends insist he wait two days minimum before calling. In the parking lot, some thugs accost Sue who retaliates by drawing a gun, scaring the thugs and his friends. Sue upsets Mike ridiculing his unhealthy obsession with his ex prompting Mike to reconsider his behaviour and try to move on.
Back at his apartment, however, he leaves a series of increasingly desperate messages on Nikki's answering machine in the middle of the night, before she firmly states that he must never call her again. Missing Michelle more than ever, he contemplates moving back to New York until Rob comes over and consoles him.
Out again for swing night at The Derby, Mike spots a woman named Lorraine. He summons all his courage to approach and connect with her. They both recently broke off relationships and moved to LA, and dance well together.
The following morning, Mike receives a call from Michelle, and finds that he no longer misses her. When Lorraine calls him, Mike cuts off his call with Michelle mid-sentence while she is saying she loves him, to further things with Lorraine. Like him, Lorraine had disregarded friends' advice to wait days before calling.
The next day, the buddies meet at a coffee shop. Trent makes a fool of himself over a pretty redhead in a case of mistaken identity. Mike smirks, knowing that his life is moving forward while Trent is stuck in the past.
Favreau wrote the screenplay for Swingers in about two weeks. His father had given him a screenwriting program on a computer and he wanted to see if he could make a screenplay "just as an exercise". He had moved from Chicago and had also broken up with his girlfriend there, but the stories and events he wrote in were fictional. He had characters that he loosely based on friends, and used fellow actors for the key parts. He had become friends with Vaughn from the 1993 film Rudy , a movie they had acted in together. He had known Livingston from Chicago and their work at ImprovOlympic, and that they moved to Los Angeles around the same time. [4]
During the time Favreau was trying to raise production money, some of the producers wanted to change the character of Trent to a woman, to not go to Vegas, and to make it darker and more violent. Others wanted to cast more notable actors like Johnny Depp or Chris O'Donnell, but Favreau declined those ideas. Favreau and his friends gave reader's theater performances of the script to drum up interest in and capital for the movie. Nicole LaLoggia, who knew of Favreau when the latter read for the film Getting In , agreed to work on the film. Her roommate, Doug Liman, secured production money from his father's business associate on the condition that Liman direct the film. [4] [5]
The title of the film was partly inspired by the Swingers Diner on Beverly Boulevard, a coffee shop that Liman and Favreau frequented. [6] [7] The "you're so money" catchphrase that the film popularized originated from a television commercial with Spike Lee and Michael Jordan in which Lee called Jordan "money". [4] [8] The phone call answering machine scene originated from a comedy bit by Jeff Garlin. [8]
With the small budget, Favreau agreed to cast himself in the movie. Liman planned to shoot about 18 days with about 12 pages per day. They auditioned and cast Vaughn after considering some other bigger names. Many of the supporting and minor roles were filled from casual auditions and from cast and crew acquaintances. More money was spent on music licensing than for the film itself. Much of the film was shot using short ends, which meant many of the scenes could be filmed for about 60 seconds. [4]
Mikey's apartment is located in the Franklin Village area of Los Angeles, a few miles from the Dresden Room. [9] It was Favreau's real-life apartment at the time. [10] [11] Favreau also used his 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente convertible, which he had bought after his previous car had been stolen and stripped. [12]
Swingers was filmed on location at several Los Angeles nightclubs, particularly in the hip Los Feliz neighborhood, including the Dresden Lounge and the Derby. Some of the shots were filmed documentary style with actual bar patrons as the crew could not afford to rent the places outright or hire a number of extras. The additional lighting was kept to a minimum as whenever the lights were brightened, the guests would scatter. [4] [6] [13] The house party scene was filmed at the producers' friends' residences under the guise of a real house party. [4]
The Las Vegas scenes were filmed primarily in two locations, with the exterior casino shots taking place at the Stardust Resort & Casino and all the subsequent interior shots being filmed at the Fremont Hotel and Casino, farther north in downtown Las Vegas. [14] [4]
The Dresden Room is a popular classic bar and club in the Los Feliz neighborhood, located at 1760 N. Vermont Ave. The music duo Marty and Elayne have been performing at the Dresden in real life several nights a week for over 35 years. [15] [16] Vaughn was a frequent visitor. [6]
The cafe where various factions of the crew meet and eat was the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop (now the 101 Coffee Shop) [9] [6] a few blocks from the Franklin Village apartments. [11] According to Liman, the shop let the cast and crew film for only one night while under renovation. [6] The scene involving peekaboo with the baby originated from Vaughn's experience with a similar person at an airport. It was added as an epilogue scene for the film, which would have ended with Favreau's character finishing the phone calls with the two women. The 101 Coffee Shop ultimately closed its doors for good in January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] [17]
The bar where the characters dance is The Derby in Los Feliz, on the corner of Hillhurst and Los Feliz Boulevard, a club inspired by the original 1920s' Brown Derby Club on the same spot. [18] Favreau had frequented there while he was raising money for the film, and even took swing dancing lessons. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was a regular act there, so Favreau became friends with the band. The filming took place during one of their regular performances along with the swing dancers. [4] In January 2009, the nightclub closed permanently. The property was bought and occupied by a bank. [18]
In addition to casting their friends in key roles, Favreau and Vaughn gave cameo roles to their family members. Vaughn's father, Vernon Vaughn, plays the lucky gambler at the $100-minimum blackjack table, while Favreau's grandmother, Joan Favreau, is the lucky gambler at the $5-minimum blackjack table. Actor Adam Scott, who had lived in the downstairs apartment from Favreau, appeared in the house party scene. [4] [19] Nicole LaLoggia, who was the line producer for the film, cameoed as the voice of Michelle towards the end of the film. [4]
Originally, the producers thought about entering Swingers into the film festival circuit, but it was not thought serious enough to be considered for Sundance. [4] They then opted to release it commercially, with a preliminary screening at a Fairfax Cinema filled with the cast and crew's friends and some prospective buyers. After some negotiations, they sold the film to Miramax for $5 million [4] (Liman recalls it was $5.5 million). [5] It premiered at the Vista Theatre. [4] Swingers had a domestic theatrical gross of $4,555,020. [2]
Swingers would later get a distribution by Buena Vista Home Video. [4]
On review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Funny, heartfelt, and effortlessly cool, Swingers made stars out of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, and established Doug Liman as a director to watch." [20] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [21]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave Swingers three out of a possible four stars, writing: "It's not a terribly original idea, [yet] the movie is sweet, funny [and] observant." [22] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an “A”, especially praising Favreau for his "exuberantly witty script". [23] Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times wrote that the film “knows how to breathe life into its people, and hooking audiences is its reward.” [24] Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film's engaging tone, writing that it's “refreshingly human in its humor.” [25]
It served as a breakthrough for Vaughn, who gained public exposure and critical acclaim for his performance. In particular, he caught the eye of Steven Spielberg when a copy of the film was sent to the director so they could clear the rights for the Jaws music. Spielberg then cast Vaughn in The Lost World: Jurassic Park . [4] [26] Director Liman also used the film to help launch a successful career in Hollywood (he would later be known for The Bourne Identity ), and it was the first major film for Livingston. [4]
The release of the film coincided with the swing revival of the 1990s. It increased interest in 1940s culture, Hollywood nightlife, and swing music. Some of the slang used in the film became popular in the years following its release, especially the use of the word "money" as a catch-all term of approval or quality. The exclamation "Vegas, baby!" also became a common quote when referencing the city. [4] [27] Big Bad Voodoo Daddy credits much of their later music success to their appearance in the film. [4]
In 2008 the film was voted as the fourteenth best film set in Los Angeles in the previous 25 years by a group of Los Angeles Times writers and editors with two criteria: "The movie had to communicate some inherent truth about the L.A. experience, and only one film per director was allowed on the list". [28]
Swingers Original Soundtrack | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | October 15, 1996 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 41:21 |
Label | Hollywood Records |
There are two collections from the film; the first soundtrack, Swingers: Music From The Miramax Motion Picture, was released in 1996 and contained original music by composer Justin Reinhardt under the name "The Jazz Jury" as well as music by various artists included in the film. The soundtrack was certified gold by the RIAA on September 10, 2019. The second, Swingers Too!: More Music From... "Swingers", was released in 1999.
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [29] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the 1990 semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family and been recently fired, has decided to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. He loads a supply of liquor and beer into his BMW and gets drunk as he drives from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Once there, he develops a romantic relationship with a prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue and the film shifts to include her narrative perspective. O'Brien died from suicide after signing away the film rights to the novel.
Jonathan Kolia Favreau is an American filmmaker and actor. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as Rudy (1993), PCU (1994), Swingers (1996), Very Bad Things (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Replacements (2000), Daredevil (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Four Christmases (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), I Love You, Man (2009), People Like Us (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Chef (2014).
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from Southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played at the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show in 1999.
Los Feliz is a hillside neighborhood in the greater Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, abutting Hollywood and encompassing part of the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood is named after the Feliz family of Californios who had owned the area since 1795, when José Vicente Féliz was granted Rancho Los Feliz.
Go is a 1999 American crime comedy film written by John August and directed by Doug Liman, with intertwining plots involving three sets of characters. The film stars William Fichtner, Katie Holmes, Jay Mohr, Sarah Polley, and Scott Wolf and features Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer, Timothy Olyphant, Desmond Askew, Jane Krakowski, J. E. Freeman, and Melissa McCarthy in her film debut.
Vincent Anthony Vaughn is an American actor and comedian. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Saturn Award.
Brown Derby was a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and best known was shaped like a derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was opened by Wilson Mizner in 1926. The chain was started by Robert H. Cobb and Herbert K. Somborn in the 1920s. The original Brown Derby restaurants had closed or had been converted to other uses by the 1980s, though a Disney-backed Brown Derby national franchising program revived the brand in the 21st century. It is often incorrectly thought that the Brown Derby was a single restaurant, and the Wilshire Boulevard and Hollywood branches are frequently confused.
Zoot Suit Riot: The Swingin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies is a compilation album by the American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on March 18, 1997, by Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. The album is a collection of swing and jazz-influenced songs from the band's first three studio albums, along with four bonus tracks recorded especially for this compilation.
The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak from the early/mid to late 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, but it was also greatly influenced by rockabilly, boogie-woogie, the jump blues of artists such as Louis Prima and Louis Jordan, and the theatrics of Cab Calloway. Many neo-swing bands practiced contemporary fusions of swing, jazz, and jump blues with rock, punk rock, ska, and ska punk music or had roots in punk, ska, ska punk, and alternative rock music.
Made is a 2001 American crime comedy film written, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau. It stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter Falk, and Sean Combs. It was both Favreau's feature directorial debut and Combs's acting debut.
The Fremont Hotel & Casino is located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It is part of the Fremont Street Experience, named after American explorer and politician John C. Frémont. The casino is operated by the Boyd Gaming Corporation.
Douglas Eric Liman is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films Swingers (1996), Go (1999), The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Jumper (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), American Made (2017) and Road House (2024).
"Zoot Suit Riot" is a song by the American ska-swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, written by vocalist and frontman Steve Perry for the band's 1997 compilation album of the same name on Mojo Records.
"I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" is a song from Walt Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book. The song was written by songwriters Robert and Richard Sherman, and was performed by singer and musician Louis Prima as King Louie, with Phil Harris providing additional vocals as Baloo the bear.
Ben Vaughn is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, composer for television and film, and a syndicated radio show host.
Patrick Van Horn is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Sue in the 1996 film Swingers, starring alongside real-life friends Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston.
Cary Woods is an American film producer. In addition to producing worldwide blockbusters Scream and Godzilla, Woods also produced the directorial debuts of many notable filmmakers, including: Alexander Payne, Larry Clark, Doug Liman, James Mangold, Harmony Korine, and M. Night Shyamalan.
Couples Retreat is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Billingsley marking his directorial debut, and written by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Dana Fox. Vaughn and Favreau star with Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Kristin Davis, Malin Åkerman, Kristen Bell, and Jean Reno. It was released on October 9, 2009, in the United States. The film was shot mostly on the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora.
The Lucky Strikes is a contemporary swing band which achieved mainstream success during the swing revival of the late 1990s. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist and vocalist Craig Marshall with Milan Moorman (trumpet), Brian Copeland (bassist), and Freddie Mendoza (trombone).
Chef is a 2014 American road comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Jon Favreau, who also stars in the film as a celebrity chef who loses his job at a popular Los Angeles restaurant following a public altercation with a food critic and begins to operate a food truck with his friends and his young son. It co-stars Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Amy Sedaris, and Dustin Hoffman, along with Robert Downey Jr. in a cameo role.