In college, there was a used clothing shop in Tallahassee called Plato's Closet near campus, and every time the commercial came on, I couldn't help but laugh. The name was too close to Plato's Retreat, the swingers club run by Larry Levenson in New York City from 1977 through the mid-80's. "Trade in your clothes for cash," the commercial said, and they were only a phrase away from saying, "then join us in the back."
Plato's Retreat founder Larry Levenson and his future ex-wife
Plato's opened in New York before AIDS became an epidemic and before safe sex became the rule and not a 50/50 choice. American Swing documents the rise and fall of the club and its proprietor, in the bargain letting us see plenty of notable (Ron Jeremy) as well as relatively anonymous visitors from the club's heyday. Levenson's assertions about the transmission of disease and how safe and clean Plato's was was shocking and tragic.
I wasn't even born when Plato's Retreat opened, but I can safely say that if I'd had the option in my college years it wouldn't have remotely been my kind of thing. As much of a "prude" as my editor called himself when reviewing this doc, I've been reminded of my own "prudishness" while watching Swing. That must be why I didn't get along with the more...polyamorous people I knew working in college, the ones who would get trashed out of their minds and screw in random pairings.
It may well be the case that human beings as a species are not monogamous by nature, and based on observation I agree with that for the most part. If monogamy is abnormal, I'm fine with that, call me a mutant and move on. "The lifestyle" is something that just doesn't jive for me, so I found the documentary a fascinating look at something very foreign to my sensibilities. I felt filthy after watching it, but I appreciate my wife more than ever.
Spout did a great interview with the filmmakers a couple months ago. It would have been nice to see something like this video recorded for the DVD, since the existing extras (a pile of Deleted Scenes) just serve to provide some additional background rather than explore why the filmmakers chose this subject. Fun as it is to find out more about how the older couple met, or in particular the Stewardess Story (which I think should've made the final cut), I wanted to hear from the guys behind the camera. It's worth adding to the Netflix queue rather than Watch Instantly for the Deleted Scenes. Sociologists and Anthropologists may want to own it for reference or classroom use, but it's not something I'd throw on the DVD player on a rainy Saturday.