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Editorial Reviews
The Seventies were sexy and sleazy. At the epicenter of it all was Plato's Retreat, the controversial, first-ever swingers club. In New York's conservative Upper West Side, Plato's embraced adventurous couples who came to dance, to swim, and... to swap. It was the start of a revolution. The brainchild of Larry Levenson, the self-proclaimed King of Swing, Plato's Retreat quickly emerged as the mainstay of public sex for the me generation, welcoming anyone and everyone. For only $35, couples checked their judgments and pedigrees at the door; debutantes got it on next to bus drivers, as movie stars gave secretaries the starlet treatment. For Levenson and others, Plato s was a utopia. However, this wild party did not last. American Swing brings this enigmatic epic of excess to the screen for the first time.
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155 of 163 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Anyone who ventures into "American Swing" expecting to see a documentary on Benny Goodman is in for one hell of a rude awakening - and that's putting it mildly. For the "swing," in this case, actually refers to the "wife-swapping" phenomenon that swept through middle-class suburbia in the 1970s. And no figure did more to popularize that trend than Larry Levenson - the "King of Swing" as he came to be called - whose "live sex club," Plato's Retreat, located in Manhattan`s Upper West Side, served as the epicenter for so much of the action.
Let it be stated right up front that this eye-opening documentary is not for the prudish or the easily offended, for its footage is graphic and its language raw, often akin in its look to crude 1970`s porn. It takes us straight into the heart of a scene that became famous for its flagrant nudity, its unbridled group sex, and - if the eyewitness accounts are to be believed - its really bad food (apparently, the smorgasbord that kept bringing the people in was of quite a different kind!). Directed by Matthew Kaufman and Jon Hart, the film features interviews with many of the now-aging club regulars who happily regale us with tales of their personal escapades there. A number of celebrities who frequented the club, as well as certain reporters and broadcasters who covered the beat at the time are also interviewed.
"American Swing" is most interesting as a social document, showing how the "free love" ethos espoused by the hippies in the 1960's expanded into the mainstream a decade later. Suddenly, ordinary businessmen and housewives, truck drivers and longshoremen could partake in the life of the sexually liberated. In his own mind, Levenson sincerely believed that he was serving a salutary purpose with his club, providing couples who didn't want to be stuck in a monogamous relationship with a more honest alternative to "cheating."
It is not the intention of Kaufman and Hart to judge the people who took part in what Plato`s Retreat had to offer, but neither is it their intention to shy away from some of the less savory consequences that eventually overtook many of them: principally, the diminution of romance, rampant drug abuse, and the spread of disease. In fact, it was the sudden appearance of AIDS in the early 1980s that brought the decade-long love-train to a screeching halt. That, along with Levenson's own troubles with the IRS (including time spent in prison for tax evasion) and possible dealings with the mob, is what eventually brought an end to the place - and to the era of licentiousness that helped to spawn it.
So, was Levenson a trailblazing sexual revolutionary who made it possible for otherwise ordinary middle-class people to live out their wildest fantasies? Or was he an emotionally stunted individual who cast away the mores of society in a bid to fulfill his own kinky desires and make a kingdom and a name for himself in the process? To their credit, Kaufman and Hart provide no easy answer to those questions, neither for the prigs in the audience nor for the libertines.
All same for the movie itself - for even though Levenson's life ends sadly, "American Swing" does not play out like the typical cautionary tale. For, in the end, we are left to reach our own conclusions as to whether Plato's Retreat was in reality a hedonistic paradise or merely a moral cesspool - or, indeed perhaps, a little of both.
The only thing you can really do is check out "American Swing" and make that determination for yourself.
Let it be stated right up front that this eye-opening documentary is not for the prudish or the easily offended, for its footage is graphic and its language raw, often akin in its look to crude 1970`s porn. It takes us straight into the heart of a scene that became famous for its flagrant nudity, its unbridled group sex, and - if the eyewitness accounts are to be believed - its really bad food (apparently, the smorgasbord that kept bringing the people in was of quite a different kind!). Directed by Matthew Kaufman and Jon Hart, the film features interviews with many of the now-aging club regulars who happily regale us with tales of their personal escapades there. A number of celebrities who frequented the club, as well as certain reporters and broadcasters who covered the beat at the time are also interviewed.
"American Swing" is most interesting as a social document, showing how the "free love" ethos espoused by the hippies in the 1960's expanded into the mainstream a decade later. Suddenly, ordinary businessmen and housewives, truck drivers and longshoremen could partake in the life of the sexually liberated. In his own mind, Levenson sincerely believed that he was serving a salutary purpose with his club, providing couples who didn't want to be stuck in a monogamous relationship with a more honest alternative to "cheating."
It is not the intention of Kaufman and Hart to judge the people who took part in what Plato`s Retreat had to offer, but neither is it their intention to shy away from some of the less savory consequences that eventually overtook many of them: principally, the diminution of romance, rampant drug abuse, and the spread of disease. In fact, it was the sudden appearance of AIDS in the early 1980s that brought the decade-long love-train to a screeching halt. That, along with Levenson's own troubles with the IRS (including time spent in prison for tax evasion) and possible dealings with the mob, is what eventually brought an end to the place - and to the era of licentiousness that helped to spawn it.
So, was Levenson a trailblazing sexual revolutionary who made it possible for otherwise ordinary middle-class people to live out their wildest fantasies? Or was he an emotionally stunted individual who cast away the mores of society in a bid to fulfill his own kinky desires and make a kingdom and a name for himself in the process? To their credit, Kaufman and Hart provide no easy answer to those questions, neither for the prigs in the audience nor for the libertines.
All same for the movie itself - for even though Levenson's life ends sadly, "American Swing" does not play out like the typical cautionary tale. For, in the end, we are left to reach our own conclusions as to whether Plato's Retreat was in reality a hedonistic paradise or merely a moral cesspool - or, indeed perhaps, a little of both.
The only thing you can really do is check out "American Swing" and make that determination for yourself.
44 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"American Swing"
(Magnolia Pictures, 2008)
----------------------------------------------
(NOTE: some spoilers included below)
----------------------------------------------
This is an utterly compelling documentary about an amazingly seedy topic, the life and death of a popular New York sex club called Plato's Retreat, which catered to heterosexual "swingers" during the height of the disco era. It was, apparently, the equivalent to the swinger scene what Studio 54 was to the gay-socialite set, a place of immense personal liberation and shocking group debauchery. I used to think of the heyday of "wife-swapping" as being in the early and mid-1960s, but this saga took place in the musty ashes of the '60s Sexual Revolution, as the hippie era gave way to a more generalized hedonism and self-centeredness in American society. The film largely shies away from an examination of the larger changes in society at the time, sticking closely to the immediate drama of the Plato club, and indeed, it's a pretty compelling story. It's also an unsettling topic: I had no idea that straight (hetero) society had such an out-there free-sex culture, and while this is fascinating in theory, seeing it made plain (there is quite a bit of archival footage) is a little nauseating, if the truth be told.
As the story unfolded, I assumed that the advent of AIDS and HIV disease would be what would do the club in, and while it did factor in, it was actually the club's ties to organized crime that rocked its foundations: the club's owner, Larry Levinson, went to jail for nearly three years for tax evasion in the early 1980s. Amazingly, the venue survived for several years until finally being closed down by the City of New York, as the AIDS crisis intensified and it became clear that unsafe sex was unsafe no matter what sexual orientation was involved. What makes this film so watchable, though, is the parade of characters -- bouncers, clubgoers, porn stars, journalists -- who are interviewed decades later, and who speak of Plato's Retreat with both refreshing candor and sincere, unrepentant, misty-eyed nostalgia. It's a slice of American history, and a portrait of a time and culture that seems profoundly remote now. Certainly worth checking out. (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film reviews)
(Magnolia Pictures, 2008)
----------------------------------------------
(NOTE: some spoilers included below)
----------------------------------------------
This is an utterly compelling documentary about an amazingly seedy topic, the life and death of a popular New York sex club called Plato's Retreat, which catered to heterosexual "swingers" during the height of the disco era. It was, apparently, the equivalent to the swinger scene what Studio 54 was to the gay-socialite set, a place of immense personal liberation and shocking group debauchery. I used to think of the heyday of "wife-swapping" as being in the early and mid-1960s, but this saga took place in the musty ashes of the '60s Sexual Revolution, as the hippie era gave way to a more generalized hedonism and self-centeredness in American society. The film largely shies away from an examination of the larger changes in society at the time, sticking closely to the immediate drama of the Plato club, and indeed, it's a pretty compelling story. It's also an unsettling topic: I had no idea that straight (hetero) society had such an out-there free-sex culture, and while this is fascinating in theory, seeing it made plain (there is quite a bit of archival footage) is a little nauseating, if the truth be told.
As the story unfolded, I assumed that the advent of AIDS and HIV disease would be what would do the club in, and while it did factor in, it was actually the club's ties to organized crime that rocked its foundations: the club's owner, Larry Levinson, went to jail for nearly three years for tax evasion in the early 1980s. Amazingly, the venue survived for several years until finally being closed down by the City of New York, as the AIDS crisis intensified and it became clear that unsafe sex was unsafe no matter what sexual orientation was involved. What makes this film so watchable, though, is the parade of characters -- bouncers, clubgoers, porn stars, journalists -- who are interviewed decades later, and who speak of Plato's Retreat with both refreshing candor and sincere, unrepentant, misty-eyed nostalgia. It's a slice of American history, and a portrait of a time and culture that seems profoundly remote now. Certainly worth checking out. (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film reviews)
29 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating look at the late-1970s epicenter of the sexual revolution
November 24, 2010
Format:DVD
No history of the sexual revolution would be complete without the story of Plato's Retreat, the very first couples-only, heterosexual sex club in the country. Located in the heart of Manhattan, this private sex club made waves as soon as it opened in 1977 and enjoyed several years of notorious success before ultimately being closed in 1985. Under the benevolent rule of Larry "King of Swing" Levenson, Plato's Retreat welcomed anyone and everyone with an interest in the swinger lifestyle, creating a clientele that ranged from the blue-collar worker and housewife to the rich and famous - and many a celebrity, judge, senator, and the like spent time there (including the likes of Robin Leach, Sammy Davis, Jr., Richard Dreyfuss, Saturday Night Live cast members, and Dan Pastorini). At its heart, this truly was the poor man's Playboy Mansion. Quickly developing a culture all its own, virtually anyone - no matter how unattractive - could satisfy their sexual appetites there free of the judgment and morality of the outside world - and women could challenge the entrenched gender role for their sex by becoming the sexual initiators and aggressors society forbade them to be. Levenson became one of the most prominent spokesmen for the swingers' movement, and few can deny his pivotal role in taking what had previously been an underground movement and placing it noticeably in the mainstream. Predictably, the good times lasted only a few years. Levenson did time for tax evasion and could not save his club from decline in the early 1980s; more than anything, though, it was the AIDS scare and New York City's resultant clampdown on sex clubs of all kinds that heralded the end of Plato's Retreat on New Year's Eve of 1985.
As you might suspect, this documentary is for adults only; if it had a rating, I strongly suspect it would be NC-17. That's largely because the presentation takes you inside the club during its heyday - via the memories of many who participated and a number of pretty explicit photos and short video clips of the action. You get the good, the bad, and the ugly, especially as it relates to the swimming pool and the infamous mattress room (which might feature a hundred or more writhing bodies on any given night). You also get plenty of opportunities to hear Levenson himself extol the virtues of his club - on cable access shows, television commercials, and talk show appearances (including Phil Donohue). Most fascinating, though, are the people willing to talk about their experiences all those years ago. Many of them are only identified by first name, but whatever apprehensions they may have had about talking about all of the really wild oats they sowed in their youth seem to fall by the wayside once they start talking.
Somewhat surprisingly, there are really no regrets to be found among the former club members who agreed to be interviewed for this documentary. They all seem to have happy memories of the place, and several obviously see their experience of sexual liberation as having enriched their lives. Many of these interviews are quite entertaining, especially those with the husband and wife managers of the club (although my favorite moment comes when one old man pauses and says - for good reason - "I hope I'm not being too vulgar"). Other interviewees include former employees, friends and family members of Larry Levenson (including his three sons), New York newspaper writers, and legal professionals - so you ultimately get a pretty comprehensive look at the subject at hand from several different perspectives. Rest assured that, despite the risqué subject matter, this is not some cheap and sleazy pseudo-documentary trying to make money off of a sordid topic - it's a very balanced, professional, and insightful look at Plato's Retreat and its place in the history of the sexual revolution.
As you might suspect, this documentary is for adults only; if it had a rating, I strongly suspect it would be NC-17. That's largely because the presentation takes you inside the club during its heyday - via the memories of many who participated and a number of pretty explicit photos and short video clips of the action. You get the good, the bad, and the ugly, especially as it relates to the swimming pool and the infamous mattress room (which might feature a hundred or more writhing bodies on any given night). You also get plenty of opportunities to hear Levenson himself extol the virtues of his club - on cable access shows, television commercials, and talk show appearances (including Phil Donohue). Most fascinating, though, are the people willing to talk about their experiences all those years ago. Many of them are only identified by first name, but whatever apprehensions they may have had about talking about all of the really wild oats they sowed in their youth seem to fall by the wayside once they start talking.
Somewhat surprisingly, there are really no regrets to be found among the former club members who agreed to be interviewed for this documentary. They all seem to have happy memories of the place, and several obviously see their experience of sexual liberation as having enriched their lives. Many of these interviews are quite entertaining, especially those with the husband and wife managers of the club (although my favorite moment comes when one old man pauses and says - for good reason - "I hope I'm not being too vulgar"). Other interviewees include former employees, friends and family members of Larry Levenson (including his three sons), New York newspaper writers, and legal professionals - so you ultimately get a pretty comprehensive look at the subject at hand from several different perspectives. Rest assured that, despite the risqué subject matter, this is not some cheap and sleazy pseudo-documentary trying to make money off of a sordid topic - it's a very balanced, professional, and insightful look at Plato's Retreat and its place in the history of the sexual revolution.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Waste of time
So dull quit after 5 minutes very slow and low interest value try to find better. I don't know what else to say
Published 1 month ago by George N Reno
3.0 out of 5 stars
good documentary
This was a documentary about an on premise swing club in the pre-HIV era. Lots of interviews of people who were involved. Some
good scenes of club activity. Read more
good scenes of club activity. Read more
Published 1 month ago by GARRY RHODES
3.0 out of 5 stars
Retro film
Brought you back to the sexual revolution in the 1980s. They would keep jumping from scenes at the club to just narrative. I would have preferred more scenes and less narrative. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Denise Russo
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't waste your time
Good thing I didn't spend much money on this junk. A documentry about free love in the 60's and 70's. I never even finished watching it. What a waste of time.
Published 2 months ago by Pamela Mace
2.0 out of 5 stars
American Swing
Did not like this movie at all. Not my kind of viewing. Some may enjoy it. I did not like it.
Published 3 months ago by John Daggett
1.0 out of 5 stars
I hated it
I didnt even watch the whole thing.. the picture looks hot, but its narrated by 70-80yr olds and it was so boaring I didnt even watch most of it. I do not recomend it to anyone.... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lumpy14470
5.0 out of 5 stars
movie
thanks . the was good but not what it was not wha i realiy intereseted in. thanks . good movie
Published 4 months ago by robert c. trusty
3.0 out of 5 stars
Is historical and very informative, not sexy
If you are expecting lots of explicit sex, you'll be disappointed. As a documentary, it is a bit tedious. Didn't bother to watch to the end.
Published 4 months ago by Soos2
3.0 out of 5 stars
American Swing
An insight into the swing movement. A documentary on Larry Levinson and his eventual downfall. It was just OK. So-so.
Published 5 months ago by boo
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bit of American/NY history
In depth expose of a trend from the 70's that certainly provided an avenue for exploration.
Amazing that it was so mainstream.
Amazing that it was so mainstream.
Published 6 months ago by comedy makes me smile
