Swingers review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Swingers could so easily have been a disaster. Big on talk, small on action, and with a budget that barely nudges that for a pop video (a tiny $250,000), it wouldn't have needed too much inexperience to make something pretentious or plodding. But thankfully director Doug Liman and writer/star Jon Favreau never put a foot wrong. "Write about what you know," holds the mantra, and these chaps have obviously been listening, spinning off a debut feature centred on young blokes sitting around in Hollywood coffee shops chewing the cud and mulling over making it in showbiz: in other words, themselves possibly three years back. Favreau's quick-paced script tells a witty tale about normal guys, what they get up to when girls aren't around, and the neuroses lurking behind their bravado. Men'll squirm in their seats, while their girlfriends sit smug as cats and beam mile-wide grins.

Swingers may understandably lack the polish of bigger, glossier productions, but its low-scale, low-budget feel won't hinder your enjoyment. Would Swingers have had the same charm if it had eaten up another $5 million? I doubt it. Liman and his small crew often as not shot the film illegally - - in the scene when Mike and Trent head out from Las Vegas, the sirens wailing in the background belong to genuine cops after Liman's filming permit. Likewise, all of the bar and club scenes - - the haunts for Trent's all-important babe-hunting - - were shot during normal opening hours, lending the piece an authenticity seldom seen on the silver screen. The action and conversation also swing merrily along to the coolest of cool soundtracks.

But it's the performances from the two leads, Favreau and Vaughn, that lend the film its jump. Best buds in real life, they gel excellently - - Favreau near-Allenesque as love-sick neurotic Mike; Vaughn confident and charming as plucky Trent. The more exuberant Vaughn (sexy and cool) comes close to utterly stealing the show, aided by a script that's clever and bubbles with an acute knack of understanding what men are like. (His Spielbergness signed him up for The Lost World after seeing this). ""I don't want you to be like the guy in the PG-13 movie, where everyone hopes it's going to happen"," he says. ""I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie"."

Low-budget it may be, but Swingers is a funny, observant little feature that exudes so much attitude and panache it has to be seen on the big screen. Saturday night fun can also come in tiny packages.

A slick and fast-moving comedy of male-bonding and babe-pulling. Not the most original of ideas for a movie, but a playful script and top performances make it a surefire cult hit. Neat visual references to films like Reservoir Dogs add to the fun.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Action Movies
Daniel Craig in No Time to Die
James Bond will reportedly remain male and British under new Amazon management, as Pierce Brosnan says it's "a given" that the next actor must not be American
Batman and Catwoman talking
Robert Pattinson is hoping to team up with his The Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz on another project soon
Keanu Reeves and Brzrkr
Justin Lin to helm Keanu Reeves' comic book movie adaptation BRZRKR for Netflix
Black Widow post-credits
Avengers Tower will have a new name in Thunderbolts, and the movie's director says it's "a symbol of things taking a darker turn"
Daniel Craig in new James Bond movie No Time to Die
Amazon boss reportedly said "I don’t care what it costs" to buy James Bond after they approached long-time producers with a Moneypenny spin-off
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 4
A new action thriller from the John Wick team described as "a corporate thriller with a samurai twist" is finding its cast, and I've never been more seated
Latest in Reviews
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"
The pump header of the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB showing a 35 degree cpu
NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB review: "Has some solid design points that make installation a lot easier"
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid gaming keyboard on a wooden desk with blue lighting
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid review: "one of the best value Hall effect gaming keyboards out there"
Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in The Electric State
The Electric State review: "Although this may be their most visually stunning movie yet, it looks like the Russos are yet to find their footing outside of the MCU"