Let it be stated right up front that this eye-opening film is not for the prudish or the easily offended, for its footage is sexually graphic and its language raw. It takes us straight into the heart of a scene that became famous for its flagrant nudity, its unbridled group sex, and – how the “free love” ethos espoused by the hippies in the 1960’s expanded into the mainstream a decade later.
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. The parallel stories of Plato’s Retreat, a Manhattan sex club for straight couples that operated from 1977 until the mid 1980s, and of Larry Levenson, the club’s impresario. In present-day interviews, Larry’s family talks about him, while writers, reporters, and clients talk about the club. Mixed with these interviews are still photographs and archival footage of the club, Larry’s appearances on talk shows, and newspaper articles. By the late 70s, the club was in full swing, with talk of Plato’s Retreats in other cities.
