SWING (DVD)

by Merle Bertrand
(2006-02-01)
2003, Un-rated, 104 minutes, Swing Movie, LLC



One of the supposed ways to secure distribution for your indie film,
short of having Weinstein, Coen or Tarantino as your surname, is to
populate the screen with recognizable names; even such "names" who
may no longer be on the upward arcs of their career paths. Man, did
director Martin Guigui take that advice to heart! Tom Skerritt, Barry
Bostwick, the late Nell Carter, Jacqueline Bisset, and even Jonathan
Winters all surround and support a cast of otherwise unknowns in this
lighthearted tale of love and romance.

Sort of a swing movie marriage of a ghost story-meets "It's A
Wonderful Life"-meets "Xanadu" with equally good music (nobody knocks
ELO on MY watch!) and minus the roller skates, "Swing" tells the tale
of Anthony (Innis Casey), an aspiring songwriter who's struggling to
find his place in life. His play-it-safe dad (Skerritt) desperately
wants to add "...& Son" to the sign on his grocery store while
Valerie (Dahlia Waingort), his uptight fiance of, um, eleven years
schedules their dates like business meetings.


Anthony gets an unexpected kick in the pants when Mrs. DeLuce
(Bisset), an elderly neighbor lady, dies, leaving Anthony a treasure
trove of gifts, delivered with the help of Anthony's frisky Uncle
Bill (Winters). Chief among these is a collection of dusty swing
records, which introduces the talented musician to their infectious
beat. It also introduces him to a mysterious 1940s era jazz club, an
enticing dance instructor...and Mrs. DeLuce's attractive
granddaughter Tina (Constance Brenneman), who just might be the gal
of Anthony's dreams if he'd just clear the mud from his eyes.


Taken at face value, the plotline of this film is about as new and
innovative as the threads swing dancers buy at the local vintage
clothes shop. Yet, there's just something maddeningly upbeat about
this film's shameless hokiness. Combine that with the film's colorful
art and wardrobe designs, spiffy choreography, the joy of seeing some
veteran faces on screen for the first time in a while, and a
soundtrack that'll make even the dead tap their toes, and "Swing"
simply makes for some serious jump-jivin' fun.