Review of the movie 'Swingers'

Writing exercise - Review of the movie “Swingers”

Swingers is a movie about Mike, a guy who’s been out of a relationship for six months and his buddy Trent who helps him get back out there and meet other women. Like most nice guys, Mike feels totally shattered after his break up, unable to understand why his ex-girlfriend won’t call him back. Trent, his best friend, then takes him to Las Vegas on an epic journey to meet women and change the way he looks at himself and his interactions with women.

Getting straight to the point I think the movie is more educational than it is about a bunch of sleazy guys ‘picking up’ chicks. For any male that feels lost in the dating game, this movie is like a guide that shows you directly or indirectly how to achieve dating success. Now, I can already hear whispers saying ‘But Uttam, it’s a movie, it isn’t real life’. And to that I say, yes, it is a movie and it’s also how you look at the movie.

Every scene in the movie is unique in its own way. The subtle nuances that you are able to notice when the actors interact with each other are little lessons embedded within them to make you say ‘Ah, now I get it.’
A scene worth mentioning here is where Trent and Mike are in the car, the morning after spending time with the women they met at the casino, is a golden nugget in the movie. The way Trent is able to listen to Mike talk about how he feels he’s not good with women unlike his buddy Trent, understand where Mike’s coming from and then explain back to him how that’s not true. Trent completely flips Mike’s depressive mood around making him start giggling like a cheerful little school girl. Trent telling Mike ‘You’re so money, and you don’t even know it.’ is probably the best line in film.

‘But Uttam, how can you say that this movie is educational when the characters are a bunch of douche bags learning to use women and leave them once they’re done satisfying, they’re needs?’ If you’re asking this, you have to understand that all throughout the movie these characters aren’t hiding their intentions from the women they’re with nor are they misleading them with lies. They are just being fully themselves. In fact, real honesty is the biggest takeaway from the film.

So, should you watch it or not? I’d say, definitely watch the movie with an open mind and without judgement. After you’re done watching it, you are entitled to whatever opinion you have of the movie. But that isn’t going to change the fact that a lot of truth is spoken in this film with regards to man-to-woman interactions. And the truth always hurts.