FAVREAU, VAUGHN SWING IN FILM THAT'S, WELL, 'MADE'.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

The self-deluding make-out artists from ``Swingers'' get mobbed-up in ``Made.'' They're not the same characters, but they are played by the same actors, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, with Favreau again scripting and making his directorial debut for good measure.

And, frankly, Favreau's well-meaning Bobby and Vaughn's loose-cannon Ricky could easily be their ``Swingers'' cousins. The characterizations are just different enough to seem fresh and to fit into the more serious, though still absurdly comic, underworld milieu of the new film. But the offbeat attitude remains, and what rolls over most pleasantly are the guys' spontaneous screen rapport and their apparently improvisational humor, with Vaughn tripping out on ever-weirder flights of behavioral fancy while Favreau believably burns a slow, worried, I-can't-believe-what-he's-doing-now impatience.

Bobby and Ricky are childhood friends and would-be boxers who make ends meet running low-level errands for L.A. crime boss Max (Peter Falk). Bobby lives with one of Max's strippers, Jessica (Famke Janssen), and has a tendency to break the place up whenever he drives her to a bachelor party. But at least his hotheadedness is motivated; Ricky is so unreliable, all Max feels safe letting him do is sweep a broom on padded construction crews.

Out of true if misplaced loyalty to his friend, Bobby convinces Max to let Ricky accompany him on a simple money drop mission to New York. Predictably (psychologically, if not in the myriad quirky ways he manifests it), Ricky mistakes this small opportunity for having it made. He proceeds to attempt living the gangsta high life with loudmouthed abandon, much to the chagrin of their Manhattan contact, played by Sean Combs, who is very good in his movie acting debut.

Whether burning through money that's not his, alarming a Scottish crook by just trying to be friendly, trying to lure a bridge-and-tunnel girl into a bubble bath or delivering a blisteringly demented paranoid rant in front of a bunch of penguins, Vaughn hotwires every scene he appears in. The unnerving-yet-comic anticipation his presence generates is enhanced by the mostly handheld, anything-can-happen camera work of Christopher Doyle, the Hong Kong-based Australian cinematographer who's shot such Wong Kar-Wai masterpieces as ``Fallen Angels'' and ``In the Mood for Love.''

However, it is a mark of Favreau's generous but thoroughly controlled directing touch that, while he lets his friend (and, to a lesser degree, other sly showboaters like Falk) have his way, he keeps the film anchored with his own performance. Bobby gives ``Made'' ethical ballast - not only does he want to do the increasingly crazy-making job right, but he wants to for the sake of Jessica and her young daughter, (Makenzie Vega), whom he probably cares about more than even her mother - without ever getting sanctimonious or sentimental about it. Plus, in his way, he can sometimes be more misguided than Ricky, which adds yet another layer of humorous irony to ``Made's'' rich, character comedy stew.

You've also got to love the fact that, since the talentless pugilists tend to settle their many arguments physically, Vaughn and Favreau go through the whole film with their faces bruised and cut up. Swinging, indeed.

``MADE''

(Rated R: violence, language, drug use, nudity)

The stars: Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Joe Goossen, Famke Janssen, Sean Combs, Faizon Love, Peter Falk, Vincent Pastore.

Behind the scenes: Written, directed and produced by Jon Favreau. Released by Artisan Entertainment.

Running time: One hour, 35 minutes.

Playing: Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Monicas, Santa Monica.

Our rating: Three and one half stars

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Photo: Vince Vaughn, left, and Jon Favreau join forces again, this time in ``Made.''