What is disappointing about Swimfan is it is always heavily criticized because of its similarity to Fatal Attraction. Most recently, Beyonce's film Obsessed was victim to the same harsh criticism. Swimfan is strong on its own, and when you look past Fatal Attraction, its a good film. Same with Obsessed. They aren't as good as Fatal Attraction, but they have a good cast and good events that create an all around good movie.
Jesse Bradford is the star I'm on the lookout for now. Since his role as the misogynist jerk in I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, I've been renting and watching My Sassy Girl, Romeo + Juliet, and now Swimfan. With movies like this I don't even know he's in them until I see them. I was researching his filmography, and to my surprise, he has been in quite a handful of movies. I noticed he was in Clockstoppers, which I continuously saw ads for as a kid, not knowing the lead guy standing tall in the poster was him.
Swimfan focuses on a very athletic and fit high school student named Ben Cronin (Bardford) who is desperate to obtain a scholarship for swimming. He has good parents, a loving girlfriend, but a past history of substance abuse. Seeing a woman with her locker not opening, Ben stops and helps the girl named Madison Bell (Christensen). Madison becomes increasingly attracted to Ben which leads to them having sex in the school pool.
Frustrated and regretful, Ben wants to just leave everything where it's at and move on in his life. Madison continues to show signs of obsession to Ben only motivated by his constant resistance and aggravation when she is around. She likes him, and won't take no for an answer.
Is it similar to Fatal Attraction? Yes. It is a flatout copy? Not necessarily. For one, Swimfan uses teens as its victims. And it manages to come up with its own ideas for these characters. I'm not saying Fatal Attraction wasn't unique, but this isn't either.
The best thing about these female obsession films is they're done with a sense of realism and they don't go over the top with their antics. I will say, that the sad part is both Obsessed and Swimfan have only a PG-13 rating. With films about female obsession, I'd appreciate if these films had gone a bit further with their antics, while keeping that same sense of realism by not overdoing it, and earn an R rating by the MPAA.
Besides being a little toned down and some moments on the dull side, Swimfan manages to squeeze its way in the recommendation side of the film section. It is suspenseful in parts and some scenes, mainly the scenes in the end, are well crafted and well executed. It's a mixed bag. A bag that shouldn't be avoided.
Starting: Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, Shiri Appleby, Clayne Crawford, Jason Ritter, and Dan Hedaya. Directed by: John Polson.
Jesse Bradford is the star I'm on the lookout for now. Since his role as the misogynist jerk in I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, I've been renting and watching My Sassy Girl, Romeo + Juliet, and now Swimfan. With movies like this I don't even know he's in them until I see them. I was researching his filmography, and to my surprise, he has been in quite a handful of movies. I noticed he was in Clockstoppers, which I continuously saw ads for as a kid, not knowing the lead guy standing tall in the poster was him.
Swimfan focuses on a very athletic and fit high school student named Ben Cronin (Bardford) who is desperate to obtain a scholarship for swimming. He has good parents, a loving girlfriend, but a past history of substance abuse. Seeing a woman with her locker not opening, Ben stops and helps the girl named Madison Bell (Christensen). Madison becomes increasingly attracted to Ben which leads to them having sex in the school pool.
Frustrated and regretful, Ben wants to just leave everything where it's at and move on in his life. Madison continues to show signs of obsession to Ben only motivated by his constant resistance and aggravation when she is around. She likes him, and won't take no for an answer.
Is it similar to Fatal Attraction? Yes. It is a flatout copy? Not necessarily. For one, Swimfan uses teens as its victims. And it manages to come up with its own ideas for these characters. I'm not saying Fatal Attraction wasn't unique, but this isn't either.
The best thing about these female obsession films is they're done with a sense of realism and they don't go over the top with their antics. I will say, that the sad part is both Obsessed and Swimfan have only a PG-13 rating. With films about female obsession, I'd appreciate if these films had gone a bit further with their antics, while keeping that same sense of realism by not overdoing it, and earn an R rating by the MPAA.
Besides being a little toned down and some moments on the dull side, Swimfan manages to squeeze its way in the recommendation side of the film section. It is suspenseful in parts and some scenes, mainly the scenes in the end, are well crafted and well executed. It's a mixed bag. A bag that shouldn't be avoided.
Starting: Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, Shiri Appleby, Clayne Crawford, Jason Ritter, and Dan Hedaya. Directed by: John Polson.