Palm Swings | Sugar Lyn Beard and Jackson Davis discover the ups and downs of swinging

Palm Swings Sugar Lynn Beard Diane Farr Jason Lewis.
(Image credit: 2017 Swing Set Productions, LLC.)

Palm Swings Sugar Lynn Beard Diane Farr Jason Lewis.

It gets hot in the desert.

A comedy-drama exploring the ups and downs of swinging, indie movie Palm Swings stars Sugar Lyn Beard and Jackson Davis as a young married couple who move to the desert town of Palm Springs, never expecting things will get quite so hot.

Indeed, they’ve barely unpacked before their flirtatiously friendly new neighbours – played by Diane Farr and Chaka Forman – have invited them to dip their toes into the polyamorous lifestyle. Yet when things begin to get steamy, it is philosophy professor Mark (Davis), against expectations, who gets cold feet, while photographer Allison (Beard) enthusiastically takes the plunge.

Director Sean Hoessli and writer Amanda Lockhart’s own cinematic plunge into the swinging scene turns out to be daring in places and surprisingly conservative in others. On the plus side, they do give their film an appropriately louche look. In fact, despite the contemporary setting, there’s something of a 1970s feel to proceedings, which seems somehow apt.

The leading ladies fit the bill, too. Beard’s air of squeaky-voiced innocence jars nicely with her raunchy sexual adventures, while Farr gives off a naughtily seductive vibe. Their male counterparts are a lot less interesting, however, and it’s a bit of a cop put when the narrative takes a more conventional turn later on. Look out, though, for Wayne’s World’s ballsy rock chick Tia Carrere as the mistress of ceremonies at a swingers’ party. As Wayne would put it: ‘Schwing!’

Certificate 15. Runtime 91 mins. Director Sean Hoessli

Palm Swings debuts on Sky Cinema Premiere on 26 April.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMItk3VEWHU

Jason Best

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.