[3] Mike Peters is a struggling comedian who left New York to find success in Los Angeles and is still upset over his girlfriend of six years, Michelle, breaking up with him six months prior.

Then they go bar hopping, stopping at a party, and later an after-hours spot, where Trent demonstrates his prowess in handling the opposite sex.

Back at his apartment, however, he leaves a series of increasingly desperate messages on Nikki's answering machine in the middle of the night, before she firmly states that he must never call her again.

[4] During the time Favreau was trying to raise production money, some of the producers wanted to change the character of Trent to a woman, to not go to Vegas, and to make it darker and more violent.

Others wanted to cast more notable actors like Johnny Depp or Chris O'Donnell, but Favreau declined those ideas.

Favreau and his friends gave reader's theater performances of the script to drum up interest in and capital for the movie.

[4][5] The title of the film was partly inspired by the Swingers Diner on Beverly Boulevard, a coffee shop that Liman and Favreau frequented.

Some of the shots were filmed documentary style with actual bar patrons as the crew could not afford to rent the places outright or hire a number of extras.

[14][4] The Dresden Room is a popular classic bar and club in the Los Feliz neighborhood, located at 1760 N. Vermont Ave.

The music duo Marty and Elayne have been performing at the Dresden in real life several nights a week for over 35 years.

It was added as an epilogue scene for the film, which would have ended with Favreau's character finishing the phone calls with the two women.

Actor Adam Scott, who had lived in the downstairs apartment from Favreau, appeared in the house party scene.

[4] They then opted to release it commercially, with a preliminary screening at a Fairfax Cinema filled with the cast and crew's friends and some prospective buyers.

The site's critical consensus reads: "Funny, heartfelt, and effortlessly cool, Swingers made stars out of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, and established Doug Liman as a director to watch.

"[20] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[21] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave Swingers three out of a possible four stars, writing: "It's not a terribly original idea, [yet] the movie is sweet, funny [and] observant.

"[22] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an “A”, especially praising Favreau for his "exuberantly witty script".

[23] Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times wrote that the film “knows how to breathe life into its people, and hooking audiences is its reward.”[24] Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film's engaging tone, writing that it's “refreshingly human in its humor.”[25] It served as a breakthrough for Vaughn, who gained public exposure and critical acclaim for his performance.

In particular, he caught the eye of Steven Spielberg when a copy of the film was sent to the director so they could clear the rights for the Jaws music.

Some of the slang used in the film became popular in the years following its release, especially the use of the word "money" as a catch-all term of approval or quality.