FLIX: American Swing |
Written by Dave Howard | |||
So how much 70’s hairy, homemade porn do you take in your indie doc??
The Marc Cuban-produced doc traces the rise and fall of NYC’s legendary swing club, Plato’s Retreat. Run by former meatpacker (yes, really) Larry Levenson, this hallmark of the ”me” generation was a symbol of 70’s excess. For $35, secretaries, debutantes, jet setters and truck drivers stripped down and strapped on to rub elbows and anything else they saw fit. They viewed themselves at a Dionysian Epic-center of counter culture. Free love had turned into orgies and pot had turned into blow. Filmmakers Mathew Kaufman and Jonathan Hart focus on the club’s fraternal lifestyle and miss some opportunities to tell some compelling B-stories. A reference to former employees being on the run from the mob is never followed up. Swing King Levinson is beaten within an inch of his life by his wife’s extracurricular lover. The tip of the story is exposed and squelched. Perhaps he was going for some kind of cinematic cock-tease. However, like all good doc filmmaking, it should leave you hungry for a larger slurp. Overall, “American Swing” is a show worth a peep. Most will catch it on DVD or cable but for those into the group thing you can throw down on the mattresses April 3 at Laemmle's Sunset. .
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