Swinging with the Finkels

I would have liked this movie if it were not for Mandy Moore. She. Can't. Act. She plays the same, saccharin sweet shy girl in every movie. Every single one. She is not believable as Alvin's wife. She is not believable as a fashion designer. What the hell was she wearing on New Year's Eve. She looked like a 50 year old dowdy cat lady, not a fashion designer who just held a show with a truly bizarre and ridiculous collection of crap. I really had to force myself to finish it. Even the ending was anticlimactic and not the least bit endearing bc of her. And the sound quality in the opening sequence. They used the same song as the opening of While You Were Sleeping, but it sounded like it was in a cave. This story had potential, but someone mucked it up big time.

Written and directed by Jonathan Newman. British Martin Freeman and american Mandy Moore are the Finkels. Things are getting boring in the bedroom, and they might be ready to try swinging with others. Co-stars Jonathan Silverman (Bernie's) .. and Jerry Stiller (Serenity now !!!) this one has a LOT of talk about marriage, open relationships, role play, keeping things new and fresh in the bedroom. So they find a couple that they both agree on, which is awkward, but okay. This is listed as a comedy, but the only comedy i found was the dirty, dirty names of the drinks they offered to the other couple. That was clever! It's SO predictable... it probably ends just like you think it will. Whatever. The extra scenes during the credits were the best part of this one. They should have left those scenes in the film!

I guess that sums it up good. Hopefully you don't have bad feelings towards the actors involved (especially Mandy Moore), because you wouldn't be able to like or enjoy the movie otherwise. But Martin Freeman and Moore do have a special chemistry and it works for the purpose of the movie. It's not that you will be cheering at the screen (I'm assuming here), but you will like them.

If that is not enough, maybe the decent comedy in place will please you. The theme is an adult one, which although there is not that much going on (explicit wise), the movie is rated R in America. In Germany and other European countries this probably looks different, because it is tame by their standards. A heads up to what you may expect.

I read the other reviews and think the film has gotten a bum wrap. It's not Oscar worthy but it's light and easy to watch. I wouldn't say it's a chick flick but definitely would be easy to see with some girlfriends but a couple would get a few chuckles out of it. Assuming you've never swung, it is a bit clichéd but it's not supposed to be taken seriously. The actors do a great job and maybe the writing could have been better. The directing was a bit bland but the overall quality of the production was pretty good. I thought the two main character had good chemistry too. Mandy is not my actress of choice but she's pretty good at light comedy. I've seen far worse actors trying to do comedy. I would recommend this film to friends and couples alike. If anything, once you finish the movie it will be easier to broach the subject of 'swinging' if you get the vibe that your partner is into it!

I hesitate to call this a straight comedy but there are plenty of laughs. It's just that on my TiVo this was identified only as "romance, comedy". It is my opinion that mainly in the second half, this becomes more of a "comedy-drama". But it is entertaining and intelligent nevertheless. It's not constant laugh out loud zaniness.

Mandy Moore is not beautiful but attractive and likeable, and certainly smart and capable of speaking her mind.

Jerry Stiller stands out in a few scenes as Ellie's grandfather. He is a nearly perfect grumpy old man but seems happy with his longtime wife. I don't know who Beverley Klein is but she seems likeable enough. Both are presented with a nasty surprise when they make a surprise visit.

Melissa George does a great job too. Not the most likeable character, but she effectively shows us frustration. I will say this. Janet is not that pretty during most of the movie but she is just plain hot, with gorgeous hair and gorgeous everything else. toward movie's end.

I don't remember his name, but Ellie's gay co-worker also stands out.

Another standout actor does nails and is Asian. I don't remember her name, and she did have only two lines (in different scenes), but she made the most of them. Elizabeth Tan is listed in the credits as "pedicurist", so that must be her

What I really liked about this movie was the music. There are a couple of classical works, but most of the music is jazz, and the good kind of jazz. Not smooth jazz, and not the intellectual, depressing Miles Davis type of jazz either. Fun music that makes me think of Ed Sullivan. And of course the pleasant background music so many movies have. There are also a couple of vocal "standards", really nice music that mature people enjoyed in the 60s while the kids were shocking their parents by blasting this evil rock and roll. One of those accompanies one of the most enjoyable sequences, with flashbacks of Ellie and Alvin meeting in college and the early stages of their relationship, followed by Ellie looking at wedding pictures.

And there is also "music" that reminds me of the green truck that wakes me on Thursdays. In the bar when Ellie's co-worker and his husband (he's quite a character too) explain "swinging", and Ellie's fashion show. Other than the music, that's pretty impressive, and the "music" is appropriate, I guess. Another scene has Peter playing a video game with heavy metal.

Is this family friendly? Given the subject matter, do you even have to ask? Especially when the couples are being interviewed. Once the one couple is selected, it's done quite tastefully, but overall, so many words had to be bleeped for broadcast TV that some scenes make no sense at all.

Stay around for the credits, because some of the funniest and naughtiest material from the couples who auditioned is still to come.

Overall, it's a pretty enjoyable experience.