tell me that wasn't money

Flashback to the mid-90s, when big bands and swing music seemed to be making a comeback... They never quite managed, right? (Had swing dancing been a thing beyond Porto-hipster levels, I would have had a head start, actually, because we learned dancing, including swing, at the private school I attended.) But, while they were there, we got a movie like Swingers.

Gotta love the answering machine telling Mike (Jon Favreau) to put his life in perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

Picture me, sitting on the floor as usual, a few hours early as I'm heading to Florida later, but I'm forgetting what I meant to write about this movie for its day one because it has been a good while since I've watched it and I'm just amused as hell.

"I just get, like, this thing where I want to be be a gentleman and I want to show respect." Love that Mike calls that a "thing" like it's not what he's supposed to do. Of course, that is what Trent (Vince Vaughn) is trying to instill in him--that he should skip the respect thing and be... well kind of a jerk, forward and overbearing. Meanwhile, Mike is awkward. He says he's a comedian immediately after a joke fails. He says, "we all have stories" right before everyone is quiet. His timing is all off. He just had a breakup after six years with a girl and he really shouldn't be out trying to pick up new pieces when he clearly wants to pick up the old ones.

But his "I just want her to be happy" gets the two girls in Vegas feeling for him and Trent sitting around awkward in a towel. A nice twist before things head back to Hollywood.

 

 

 

 

 

These guys are so horrible, sexist, privileged, but oddly endearing even at their worst. And, you gotta appreciate Charles' (Alex Desert) "This place is dead anyway, man" when the place clearly isn't dead.

Mike getting embarrassed about the Starbucks job application, while talking to the girl who works at Starbucks, was a sad sight to see. He's trying to present himself as Mike would instead of as himself when he was doing okay until he, you know, tried.

And then there's the scene. The classic answering machine scene. Painful but played just right that we can laugh at it even while we sympathize.

 

 

 

 

 

And, that's all for today. The month is coming to a close and I'm a bit worded out. Tomorrow, though, Swingers again, and maybe I'll be my usual wordy self.