BookendS on Amazon Prime Video

@DNLB — this morning a FB memory from 2 years ago popped up. We went to see Ozzy with our two good friends. They are vanilla (I refer to them as vanilla w/sprinkles) they want to go to a LS club, I don’t think they are ready. Well at this show after a few too many Jell-O shots and vodka lemonades the ladies got a little nuts in the parking lot as we waited for traffic to clear out. Then the ride home became epic as I got a show that will be forever burned in my mind (and the video saved on my phone).

@Wayne - so true. I have a swinger meme page on twitter and Instagram and one of the last ones I did and posted was of perceptions of swinger parties. The end result is that most LS club/party events invariably have people just doing what happens in vanilla bars. The last couple of trips to clubs were just like that. People standing around talking to old friends and enjoying a night out aka boring vanilla stuff. Show that on TV and everyone is yawning. Show the Zion scene from Matrix 2 and that is what most think is happening.

Ha! We got drunk with our friends and “fooled around “ for years before we were swingers, it allowed for the plausible deniability thing: I didn’t mean to offend you, I was so drunk I didn’t know what I was talking about. Usually involved women making out & some times same room sex.

<p><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:open sans,sans-serif; font-size:14px">"Had any one person just put their foot down and said, "No, this is not happening.", it wouldn't have happened."</span></p>

<p><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:open sans,sans-serif; font-size:14px">And the movie wouldn't have happened either. :) Like someone else said, watching normal swingers is pretty boring. I can attest to that after almost 20 years of working here. Actually participating is WAY more fun. They have to add in some drama for entertainment. They could add sex, but then it would become a porno. </span></p>

I thought there was plenty of blame to go around for pretty much everyone. Mentioning swinging to people at work is a huge, "Hell No!!!" That's something an experienced swinger should know better about. Discussing it with vanilla people at all is another. A supposedly experienced couple thinking full swap in separate rooms with newbies was a good idea. The swinger wife should have pulled her hubby off to the side and had a private conversation with him, because she clearly thought it was a bad idea.

The vanilla wife for pushing the issue and all of them for doing anything while all were drunk. The vanilla wife was also freaked that her hubby actually did something after having done something herself and she was one of the primary enablers for what happened, and why things went so badly. The vanilla husband clearly wasn't thinking all of this was a good idea and could have put his foot down.

Had any one person just put their foot down and said, "No, this is not happening.", it wouldn't have happened. At least not that night where everyone was drunk. Also, had the vanilla wife not freaked out after actually pushing for what happened, the outcome may have been completely different, but that wouldn't be expected in a made-for-TV movie about swinging.

so we watched Bookends and we were wondering who you all thought should the most blame for the shit that happened?

How true.. for "us" we have gone to a well known swingers venue in Ft Ldl Fl.. everyone from well know attorneys, judges, teachers, cops, firefighters etc etc.. all would partake in dancing and swinging and all left with a smile..

Lets just say in court... defense or state, dem or repub.. WE all smiled!

ncwv ... society is quite fine with TV showing married folks having extramarital sex, just as long as it's done without the knowledge and consent of the adulterer's partners.

NCWV - so true. We have very close friends who keep asking us to take them (at least when the clubs were open), the wife explained that it’s no different than the regular bar we normally go to except you will see boobs out, girls kissing and occasionally people in the play rooms having sex (well at least a little different I guess). And they were like “...and??” Although these two ladies have on occasion have done as much as you see people in clubs doing at this vanilla bar...

@Mayhem - It will probably be a while before we see true swinging as part of the mainstream TV. While society is generally fine with discussing and promoting casual sex between 2 unmarried people, it's still the norm that once you find the one, all other fun has to stop. But then again, many outside the LS have grandiose ideas of people swinging from chandeliers and wild drug and sex fueled parties. And while those exist, it's been far from the norm for us. Our favorite club, the Scarlet Ranch, is only a few minutes from our house. And while a bit more skin is showed throughout the venue, 99% of the time, you'd think you were at an awesome neighborhood bar. Swingers really aren't that different than vanillas. Our specific hobbies just happen to have no clothes.

Absolutely right... too many get these visions of what it’s like and what it is, is absolutely the opposite in most cases.

It’s like going to a club and everyone is standing around discussing unsexy stuff.

Well, at one point 2 girls kissing on TV was a big thing, and I never thought I'd see 2 guys kissing on TV, but both of these are less rare these days. Could be that swinging will become more common and socially acceptable, and the fact they're even showing anything is a sign of change.

For the most part, trying to show normal swingers (i.e. sans drama) is kind of boring. Watching other people having sex can be boring as well. For example, you'll hear of these cases where a girl gives a guy a BJ for like 30 mins straight. Might be fun for the girl and is very likely fun for the guy, but after watching it for more than 2 mins it's likely to get boring.

Honestly, the movies where there is drama and people break up would probably be more popular because it validates people following the norm versus making them think they may be missing out on something.

When TLC brought the LS to TV with “Neighbors with Benefits” - it was panned as just being boring by critics.not enough sexiness, just loving couples going about their lives and then looking forward to sexy fun. Then all the Karens and Brandons of the world felt that TLC was promoting immoral and indecent behavior, they jumped all over the advertisers and got TLC to pull it and bury it forever. Truth be told the ratings dropped from episode 1 to 2 dramatically because everyone was expecting salacious TV and instead got what was perceived as unsexy. Although Episode 2 did show the same type of behavior as BookendZ where one couple was not on the same page.
This show came around as we were starting to dip our toes and I wish that TLC would just have let it played out. But I guess the advertisers pressure on a show with diminished ratings was enough to pull it. America will never be ready for LS folk.

@Fokkers - Yeah, you're right. Any movie that depicted successful swingers that have sex with others while maintaining a loving/caring relationship with each other would probably be banned on TV ;-)

But then it would make swinging/LS almost seem normal... and you can’t have that... Swinging is an immoral act by deviant people (unless of course you are the past former President of a conservative university...

(Hopefully everyone read that with a snicker and sarcasm.)

I think that newbies have enough doubt and nervousness already. It would be nicer I'd think for them to see a positive flic on swinging than one where one couple breaks up and the other is seemingly scarred for life.

By prerequisite, we meant that this is what happens when couples don't communicate and everyone isn't on the same page. More of a documentary of what not to do.

Mayhem, I agree with your observation. This was definitely a ‘Dont try this at home’ and ‘your mileage may vary’ film. While they gave you clues before hand of small ‘cracks’ just like in life you would have missed it and then once they got Into it the relationship magnifying glass that is the lifestyle, turned those unseen cracks into chasms. Granted some couples can initially work past this, most who try though I believe end their journey at the start line.

So I watched Bookends and it was not at all what I was expecting. If a couple was considering the LS before watching it, they may not be after watching it. It was more a lesson on what NOT to do as swingers.

We've not watched it but will have to check it out. We're well beyonf the newbie stage, but sounds like it may be fun for just the entertainment value.

Anyone else, particularly couples, that have watched the movie BookendS on Amazon Prime Video right now? We thought it was a great flick to begin with but should be a prerequisite for anyone wanting to get started in the lifestyle. Thoughts?