The year was 1977 and New York City burned. As the metropolis hurtled into bankruptcy, the city’s nightlife hit unprecedented heights. In midtown, the ultra-exclusive Studio 54 was a cocaine-fueled celebrity playhouse. Meanwhile, in the basement of the prestigious Ansonia building on the conservative Upper West Side, Plato’s Retreat opened its doors to ordinary couples who came to dance, to swim, and...to swap. It was the start of a revolution. The brainchild of former wholesale meat purveyor Larry Levenson, Plato’s Retreat quickly emerged as the epicenter of public sex for the “me” generation. For a mere $35, couples checked their judgments and pedigrees at the door at this clothing-optioned Disneyland. For Levenson and others, Plato’s was utopia. For some, it is a time capsule that they are eager to forget. American Swing brings this epicenter of sex and excess to the big screen for the first time. |
