Erotic Review: American Swing - A Documentary About Plato's Retreat

The 1970s were a time of transition from the Woodstock years of the 1960s.

There was a sexual revolution that continued to develop and became more apparent in New York City.

In 1977, Larry Levinson, a man who had very little money himself, managed to secure a loan to start a straight swinger club in New York City called Plato's Retreat. It was a place to socialize and meet new people. It was also a place to dance to the disco beat. But what he was most famous for was being a sex club.

American Swing is a documentary featuring candid interviews with former club fans, former club employees as well as friends (now decades older) of the club owner (Larry Levinson). You will also see lots of actual footage of the actual activity which was the norm in the club.

Many of the interviews were extremely candid in a way, but also humorous recollections of their experiences at the club.

Plato's Retreat has gained local and national attention with shows such as The Phil Donahue Show. Larry seemed to appreciate the attention and was on top of the world.

Plato's retreat was a secret world brought to the public. It was the talk of the city and it was a popular hot spot for celebrities to visit. Larry's vision was to market the swingers club to the general public by opening clubs in various cities across the country.

Although his vision was ambitious, America just wasn't ready.

In the 1980s, Americans began to have different opinions about sex, particularly with AIDS becoming a concern. The very sad and ridiculous decline of the retreat of Plato and its owner has come to an end. It was the end of an era.

From the perspective of watching an interesting documentary for entertainment purposes and general club information, this would be a great documentary to watch. Definitely not a family flick, but great to watch with your other friends or adult friends who you think might be interested in learning more about this very interesting club.

Don't expect to be blown away with this documentary. But what I feel, this film, is a wonderful path of memory at a very interesting time that will never be reproduced.

This film can be purchased or rented from Amazon. You can also rent this movie on Netflix or Blockbuster.