When Martin gets out of prison, the guards warn him to get a job or end up back in jail. Martin decides to start his own band. The band is a smashing success until the police find out that i... Read allWhen Martin gets out of prison, the guards warn him to get a job or end up back in jail. Martin decides to start his own band. The band is a smashing success until the police find out that it was backed with stolen money.When Martin gets out of prison, the guards warn him to get a job or end up back in jail. Martin decides to start his own band. The band is a smashing success until the police find out that it was backed with stolen money.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLisa Stansfield's feature film debut.
- Crazy creditsAt the end of the credits, they mention five hamsters were killed in the making of this film...and how if they had not moved, the staple gun would not have been used.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Lisa Stansfield: Baby I Need Your Lovin' (1999)
Featured review
Lisa Stansfield rocks in this delightful homage to the swing revival!
The reason I saw Swing at all is because I am a big Lisa Stansfield fan. When I discovered she was making her theatrical debut in a movie about a struggling swing band, I was excited not only to see Ms. Stansfield in her first acting role, but to hear her cover some great big-band standards with that signature voice of hers.
If you get nothing else out of this movie at all, the soundtrack is worth at least one viewing.
Overall, I thought this movie was rather entertaining and very charming, a characteristically cynical and quirky British comedy, with a few minor snags, mainly from plot holes and dialog. (Also, as an American viewer, it was difficult at first to get used to the heavy Liverpool accent.) The one-liners at times try too hard to be funny, but luckily those moments were often quickly followed by one of the movie's greatest strengths, its music.
It's not to say the film has nothing BUT its soundtrack to keep it entertaining. Hugo Speer gives a commendable performance as the frustrated protagonist Martin Luxfordan unlucky chap whose last get-rich-quick-scheme landed him a 2 year prison sentence. While serving time, he learns to play the saxophone from his inmate, and is inspired to change his ways during his parole by starting a swing band. Life is not easy for Martyhis parents live in the projects and his brother is a conniving thief who sells his unsuspecting targets the very security systems he breaks into. Things are so bleak you just beg for some light at the end of the tunnel. But Marty plucks right along persuading his friends to join in on his enterprise and holding out hope that he can live his dream. This set-up, while not thoroughly original, is played out well by Speer. When the movie is not rip-roarin' to the sounds of the jazz age, its up to Speer to make us root for Marty, which he succeeds in doing with devilish charm.
Enter Joan, the ex-girlfriend, played by Stansfield. Marty singles her out to be the lead singer of his developing band (surprise! surprise!) but there's one snagJoan is married to the police officer who put Marty away in the first place. This sets up all sorts of wonderful possibilities for a love triangle, but Danny McCall comes off as almost unbelievably psychotic as Joan's husband Andy. He seems more obsessed with his job (the man wears police uniform pajamas to bed)than with keeping Joan's affections, and instead of insecure about his marriage he comes off as unreasonable and inexplicably bent on making Marty's life a living hell. It also becomes increasingly difficult to understand why Joan married the man in the first place, since he displays not even one iota of a redeeming quality. But it is fun to see Joan square off against Andy later in the film, in moments where Stansfield shines in ferociousbut fabulousglory.
Despite some minor but persistent flaws, this movie is a pleasure to watch. Peppered with an odd array of supporting charactersincluding the intimidating Mighty Mac and his Orange Brigade brass section who look like they're armed for a hit(mob-style, not musical)the film occasionally takes a delightfully bizarre turn even in otherwise predictable moments.
I would definitely recommend this movieI have seen it several timesespecially if you are looking for an easy, unchallenging but delightful story about the spirit to overcome adversity, an homage to the swing revival movement at the end of the 90's, or a chance to see Lisa Stansfield take down the Liverpool police department.
If you get nothing else out of this movie at all, the soundtrack is worth at least one viewing.
Overall, I thought this movie was rather entertaining and very charming, a characteristically cynical and quirky British comedy, with a few minor snags, mainly from plot holes and dialog. (Also, as an American viewer, it was difficult at first to get used to the heavy Liverpool accent.) The one-liners at times try too hard to be funny, but luckily those moments were often quickly followed by one of the movie's greatest strengths, its music.
It's not to say the film has nothing BUT its soundtrack to keep it entertaining. Hugo Speer gives a commendable performance as the frustrated protagonist Martin Luxfordan unlucky chap whose last get-rich-quick-scheme landed him a 2 year prison sentence. While serving time, he learns to play the saxophone from his inmate, and is inspired to change his ways during his parole by starting a swing band. Life is not easy for Martyhis parents live in the projects and his brother is a conniving thief who sells his unsuspecting targets the very security systems he breaks into. Things are so bleak you just beg for some light at the end of the tunnel. But Marty plucks right along persuading his friends to join in on his enterprise and holding out hope that he can live his dream. This set-up, while not thoroughly original, is played out well by Speer. When the movie is not rip-roarin' to the sounds of the jazz age, its up to Speer to make us root for Marty, which he succeeds in doing with devilish charm.
Enter Joan, the ex-girlfriend, played by Stansfield. Marty singles her out to be the lead singer of his developing band (surprise! surprise!) but there's one snagJoan is married to the police officer who put Marty away in the first place. This sets up all sorts of wonderful possibilities for a love triangle, but Danny McCall comes off as almost unbelievably psychotic as Joan's husband Andy. He seems more obsessed with his job (the man wears police uniform pajamas to bed)than with keeping Joan's affections, and instead of insecure about his marriage he comes off as unreasonable and inexplicably bent on making Marty's life a living hell. It also becomes increasingly difficult to understand why Joan married the man in the first place, since he displays not even one iota of a redeeming quality. But it is fun to see Joan square off against Andy later in the film, in moments where Stansfield shines in ferociousbut fabulousglory.
Despite some minor but persistent flaws, this movie is a pleasure to watch. Peppered with an odd array of supporting charactersincluding the intimidating Mighty Mac and his Orange Brigade brass section who look like they're armed for a hit(mob-style, not musical)the film occasionally takes a delightfully bizarre turn even in otherwise predictable moments.
I would definitely recommend this movieI have seen it several timesespecially if you are looking for an easy, unchallenging but delightful story about the spirit to overcome adversity, an homage to the swing revival movement at the end of the 90's, or a chance to see Lisa Stansfield take down the Liverpool police department.
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- The_Man_In_White
- Dec 19, 2004
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