Swinging with the Finkels

source: Swinging with the Finkels

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 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.

Perhaps people expect too much. This is a conventionally paced, modest comedy but it has its share of individual charm and entertained me just fine.

If you are tempted to spend an evening with the finkles, dont.

Alvin (Martin Freeman) and Ellie Finkel (Mandy Moore) seem to be a happily married couple in London. Peter (Jonathan Silverman) and Janet (Melissa George) are their married best friends. With issues in the marriage, Ellie suggests swinging. Freeman and Moore make for a bland couple. They don't have much chemistry which leaves them without any rooting interest. I don't care about saving their marriage. The characters are flat. The humor is cruel but worst of all, it's broadly bland. With all the inappropriate takes and foul language, none of it is that funny, not even as an accidental shock humor. I'm not sure who writer/director Jonathan Newman is. His resume doesn't stand out to me. It's surprising that he has a cast of good actors. I don't know what they read in the script.

Mandy Moore. This singer turned actress had two movies out in 2010. One was where she voiced a Disney Princess named Rapunzel in Tangled(which according to Rotten Tomatoes) is the best film that she has ever done in her career. And then there is this mediocre romantic comedy Swinging With The Finkels. She plays Martin Freeman's wife(yeah the guy is too old for her,you would take him to be her dad)who wants to swap him for another couple as the two can swing with the other couples. So they come across this couple and they see what sex is like with the other person. I couldn't watch half of this at all as I was switching back and forth on TV as it was bearable to watch. In my opinion I think Mandy Moore tries too hard. She reminds me of Meg Ryan in the days. She always plays this sweet innocent chick that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth ,instead of actually playing other characters that haven't got that angelic persona that both Moore and Ryan have. Bottom line I was disappointed in this movie and if you really want to see what a great actress Ms Moore is then check her out in A Walk To Remember(2002) and of course my all time favourite film Tangled. These two films really showcase her talent as she is a great singer and I wish she would focus more on her music again besides wasting her talent on rubbish films like this one that I am reviewing. Another thing I forgot to mention is her and Martin Freeman together as a couple. It just doesn't work. Yes the two have worked together before in the past called Deception(it was directed by Justin Therox)but I just couldn't invest myself with Moore and Freeman AT ALL as Alvin and Ellie Finkel. I mean why on earth would they swap partners for anyway its just total rubbish. Avoid Also keep an eye out for Louie Spence(who is well known here in the UK in Strictly Come Dancing)and of course Ben Stiller's dad Jerry Stiller.

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 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.

Midway through this movie exactly this phrase came to my mind. There are some really lovely moments where (t)his potential shines, something like Hepburn-Grant, wow - oh and the chemistry between the leads should be a little bit better. Yet of course this movie isn't a screwball and if you expect a lot of swinging, you'd be disappointed as well. The gags were foreseeable and all I felt was an air of compulsiveness, as regards marriage, sex etc. When Peter (Jonathan Silverman) mentions that he misses the fighting and nagging, this subsumed exactly my feelings about the script. So please, please, if anybody reads this do me a favour and have Martin Freeman do a real screwball comedy, for I fear he would be excellent - just the right timing. The 6 out of ten is for the acting!