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Swing is the good-natured tale of a Liverpudlian ex-con who decides to make a new life for himself as the leader of a swing band. When we are first introduced to Martin (
The Full Monty's Hugo Speer), he is being released from the slammer, where he did time out of loyalty to his wayward brother, Liam. His cellmate, Jack, a sweatsuit-wearing, dreadlocked sax player who looks suspiciously like
Clarence Clemons (because he is), inspired Martin to make swing his vocation and serves as his conscience throughout the film. This is a good thing, because nobody else seems to think he can pull it off, including his ex-girlfriend, Joan (Lisa Stansfield), now married to the cop that put him away, and his own parents (nicely played by veteran British actors Rita Tushingham and Tom Bell). Joan has missed singing, however, and eventually decides to join Martin's band, along with a soccer- loving bass player, skinhead drummer, and horn section of Orange Brigades led by
The Young Ones' Alexei Sayle.
Speer isn't the most dynamic actor, but he generates the appropriate degree of sympathy and works well with pop vocalist Stansfield, who acquits herself nicely in her feature film debut. She also sings several numbers, including "Mack the Knife" and "Baby, I Need Your Loving," both of which can be found on the motion picture soundtrack. If Swing does not hit the heights of The Blues Brothers or The Commitments, it keeps the beat more often than not. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
