In London, Ellie and Alvin have been married nine years and are bored. Things could be worse, though. Their friends Peter and Janet have two kids and their sex life is nearly non-existent. His sex life is another matter, but that's another issue we'll deal with later.Co-workers of both Ellie and Alvin make suggestions about what to do to spice up the marriage. Ellie seems to be a fashion designer (very nice logo) and Alvin works with blueprints (probably an architect). One idea is swapping with another couple, which leads to some laughs. Ellie puts an ad on a web site. We meet some of the more colorful couples who are being considered (and stay around for the credits, because some of the funniest and naughtiest material from them is still to come). One couple is selected, and things go pretty well at first. Once a couple is selected, the process all seems perfectly innocent and not dirty at all. But ultimately the plan is not successful, and the rest of the movie is about whether Ellie and Alvin will even stay together, as well as the breakup of Peter and Janet's marriage over his cheating. By the end of the movie, there is hope for at least one and possibly both of the couples.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 herWhat 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.Overall, it's a pretty enjoyable experience.

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.AvoidAlso 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 love movies that deal with sex and marriage because these are topics that, well, are taboo on our society. The movie premise starts great, a marriage with a 'block' on their passion search for alternatives and as I say, it starts great, very liberal in the way it shows the couple trying to search for something different.Then, all of a sudden, the movie just chickens out, sex and passion stops being the main topic of the movie and it slowly but surely becomes in another super clichéd romantic comedy about a couple fighting and getting back together.Seriously, I love movies that respect their premise and go for it, this movie is not. Swinging (swingers) is the main title of the movie, but, believe me, swinging is the LEAST you will see on this one.I don't have a problem with romantic comedies, don't get me wrong, but when the main premise goes to the trash can in the middle of it I get mad.This movie is very deceptive, it tries to be original and bold in their initial statements but if rapidly falls in the "normal" category.A real letdown, if you really want to see a fun comedy that don't dare to chicken out like this one, please, go see "A good old fashioned orgy" and do not waste time on this one.