Image credit: Swingers, 1996
As a teenager, I must have watched Swingers (Disc/Download) at least a hundred times. The poster graced the walls of dorm rooms and crappy apartments, and I even made my dad take swing dance lessons with me. Ordering my first drink in a bar went something like this, “One of the Glen’s, please. Any Glen.” I’ll admit, the phrase ‘beautiful babies’ makes me cringe in a way it didn’t used to, but dang if the rest of this movie doesn’t still hold up.
Written by and starring Jon Favreau, this was the indie film darling of the 1990s. Made on a shoestring budget, Swingers launched the careers of Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Ron Livingston, and director Doug Liman, and made big-band music and speakeasy bars cool again. As an adolescent girl, I viewed the film as valuable insight into the male psyche. But how to meet a Michael in a world full of Trents? How to make sure the guy who just asked for your number doesn’t tear it up on the way out the door? These are still questions I’m not sure I have the answer to, other than to say relationships are a crap shoot, and sometimes, even when it might feel like you’re just the guy behind the guy behind the guy, you can get lucky and the right person will come along and see you.
There is so much alcohol in this film, from martini’s to Budweiser and back again, but the best way to celebrate a “money” guy like Michael is by drinking my preferred Glen, Glenlivet. Simple, on the rocks, with a pancake chaser after midnight.
A quote I always come back to when I’m feeling blue about not being where I thought I’d be by now in my career is Ron Livingston’s classic line, “You don’t look at the things you have, you only look at the stuff that you don’t have.” I may not have that lucrative book deal or the master bathroom of my dreams, but I’ve got a guy who’ll always call me back, and a blog that brings me joy. And that’s pretty money if you ask me. Cheers!
Cinema Sips 