Great Character: Trent (“Swingers”)
Since the kids are heading back to school, this month’s theme: Mentor. Today in his regular weekly guest post, Jason Cuthbert looks at Trent from the 1996 movie Swingers, written by Jon Favreau.
With a movie title like Swingers, you could easily enter into this comedy expecting a bunch of guys trading sex partners (depending on how deep in the gutter your mind is). Director Doug Liman (Go, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) proves that Swingers has much more to do with swing dancing than a freaky “free love” lifestyle. There is even more focus on out-of-town actors wondering when Hollywood is going to give them A-List citizenship — with cocktails, casinos and camaraderie keeping them afloat in the mean time.
Before multi-hyphenate moviemaker Jon Favreau unleashed his wise foresight that made Will Ferrell an iconic 6’3” Christmas elf (Elf) and the rebounding Robert Downey Jr. into a blockbuster comic book action hero (Iron Man), Favreau wrote, co-produced and starred in Swingers. Favreau plays Mike, the Queens New York comedian who is 6 months into his Los Angeles relocation that caused his 6-year relationship with his girlfriend to dissolve. With Mike’s career tiptoeing towards the finish line and his love life sprinting towards the Hall of Shame; his insecurity is rescued by the confident charisma of his main man and mentor of being “money” with the madams — Trent (Vince Vaughn). The Trent character left such a positive impression on the most successful director in the world, Steven Spielberg, that Vince Vaughn was cast as Nick Van Owen in Spielberg’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Swingers from IMDB:
Wannabe actors become regulars in the stylish neo-lounge scene; Trent teaches his friend Mike the unwritten rules of the scene.
Hopefully every introverted bachelor or self-conscious bachelorette has a “Trent;” that outgoing confidante that effortlessly lives in the moment, without fear of rejection. By virtue of “The Big T” being able to transform mere conservation into contact information, getting default dates just by standing next to Trent is just part of the perks.
TRENT: (to female waitress, referring to Mike) “Look at this, okay? I want you to remember this face, here. Okay? This is the guy behind the guy behind the guy.”
Trent can lead Mike to the bar of babes, but he can’t force him to quench his thirst. With Mike’s extended hangover from his ex-girl lingering over his head like a bad haircut, Trent’s objective to recruit Mike back into the game, to play for Team Lover Man, proves to require more extensive training then expected.
TRENT: “You take yourself out of the game, you start talking about puppy dogs and ice cream and of course it’s going to end up on the friendship tip.”
The beautiful thing about Trent’s approach towards mentoring Mike’s mojo is that he never loses his patience and insults the guy. There is a genuine desire to see Mike realize his own personal potential and sincere charm. Even when Trent’s own friends-with-benefits episodes are ruined by Mike’s preoccupation with the past, Trent never loses his mind with Mike, exhibiting the obvious respect that exists at the root of their friendship. If Trent could have it his way, all of his fellow late night Swingers would know and understand how “money” they are and would collectively make their mark on the L.A. social scene like a modern version of “The Rat Pack.” It’s pretty clear that Trent would play Frank Sinatra.
TRENT: “There’s nothing wrong with letting the girls know that you’re money and that you want to party.”
Trent does not pretend to be some infomercial love connection guru with a self-proclaimed mystic aphrodisiac for bedroom mating. He humbly believes that his playboy player status can be taught, applied and mastered, with simple steps. Trent may not have gone to college, nor care about half of the things a new “beautiful baby” may be expressing to him. But, if there is one thing that he is a complete genius at it is getting desired results with his swagger.
TRENT: All I do is stare at their mouths and wrinkle my nose, and I turn out to be a sweetheart.
Getting a girl’s phone number is only half the battle. The war of lust cannot be waged until it extends beyond the point of initial contact. Trent has very rigid ideas about exactly when one should call that newly acquired lady friend. He recognizes dialing up after two days as merely the appropriate “industry standard” for socializing. But apparently, Trent prefers to wait a little bit longer before starting that new dialogue with the opposite sex because…well…“Three days is kind of money.”
TRENT: “You know what. Ha ha ha Mike, laugh all you want but if you call too soon you might scare off a nice baby who’s ready to party.”
Trent never lets his lonely pal Mike wallow in the sorrow of his lonely mattress. He constantly checks in on his buddy’s well being: before heading to Las Vegas, during a trailer park double date and after an alpha male parking lot clash of egos. Even when Mike’s wildly fictionalized career success makes a complete fool out of him in front of the extra enticing Nikki (Brooke Langton), who remembers recently introducing Mike to her Starbucks boss for a gig, Trent keeps his class in session. Trent is determined to make a social butterfly out of Mike no matter how long it takes Mike to leave that depressing cocoon and spread his wings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feeIOZH7wr4
Trent’s winning attitude explodes into an emotional celebratory thrill ride after Mike shows valid signs of moving on to greener pastures with Lorraine (Heather Graham), a fellow L.A. transplant and post-break-up survivor from Wisconsin. With a blood stream loaded with liquor and a pulse pounding with pride, Trent’s victory dance on top of a dinner table is a hilarious highlight in Swingers. Trent seems even happier than Mike for his long overdue matchmaking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAvVe92mi5k
For his comedic quips of enlightenment, his unselfish investment in pleasure for everyone and his lead–by-example social showmanship — Trent is a GREAT CHARACTER that is so valuable to the movie that he is “money” in the bank.
There are all sorts of Mentor types. Some of them are wizened old characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gandalf the Grey, and Mr. Kesuke Miyagi. Some of them are acerbic like Yoda. And some of them are party dudes like Trent in Swingers.
All you Trent fans, join us in comments to discuss. And thanks once again to Jason! You may follow him on Twitter: @A2Jason.