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Swimfan

Swimfan

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun, but could have been much more
Review: Everything said in previous reviews is dead-on, as this film is nothing more than a remake of Fatal Attraction for teenagers. But while the movie hits into the formulaic ending after the first hour, I must say that the first hour was *really* good. I had the impression after watching it that after building up the first two thirds so well, the scripters didn't know how to wrap everything up, and so relied on the ole save the girl paint-by-numbers ending to wrap things up. A shame, because the acting was fantastic, the movie dark and gritty...in fact with a better last third and possibly another twenty minutes or so, this could easily have been a five star movie.

Watch this for predictable but fun entertainment, but definetly keep an eye on the actors playing the male and female leads in this movie - quite impressive and they manage to take the material and make it work in more than your typical teenage-crowd movie. They've both got potential.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Off The Deep End
Review: If it works for a woman to stalk and terrorize a grown adult man, a la "Fatal Attraction", then it must work for young teenagers too!. That's pretty much what you get with this movie. A "Fatal Attraction" for the teen crowd. The movie is about high schooler Ben Cronin(Jesse Bradford), a star swimmer for his school's swim team. Ben seems to have it all. He has a really sweet girlfriend named Amy(The adorable and cute as a button Shiri Appleby from "Roswell"), he's popular, he's a big swimmer on the team, and two college recruits are coming in a week to watch him in a swim meet. Then comes the new girl in school, Madison Bell(Erika Christensen from "Traffic"). As usual, she seems to be nice and shy and just trying to learn her way around the new place. After an encounter in school, Ben and Madison become friendly. And thus, Ben's life beings to go down the tubes. She encourages him to go out with her one night, and they end up making love in the school's swimming pool. Now, Ben is a nice guy and easy to like and to cheer on, but he did sleep with Madison on his own will, and that will always be nagging in the back of your mind as you watch him. After that, Madison begins the deadly game she plays. She trounces Ben with phone calls, e-mails, and coming over to his house. When Ben finally tells her to back off, the real bad stuff happens. I won't say what happens so as to not give anything away, but it really doesn't matter at all. Why?. Because you will already know exactly what's coming and what will happen. And this is the movie's biggest problem. How many times have we seen a movie where the girl goes nuts because the boy she loved and thought loved her back tells her there is nothing between them?. I'm gonna say hundreds of times. The script seems to think that since all the movies like this are all like this, then this is what we must want to see. Wrong. There is nothing new here. We know this story from beginning to middle to end. The writers didn't seem to try to do something new or to inject new life into this dead horse. They seemed to go by the book and not seemed to really care or be all that interested. It's a flabby and tired script that they have done. All the cliches are there. We know that Ben has a great girlfriend and we know that that will soon be in trouble. We know that Ben is a star swimmer and that two college recruits are coming to watch him and we know that that too will be in jeopardy. Wanna make a bet that the psycho girl will want the girlfriend out of the way too?. Having said all of this, I can say that it is a real guilty pleasure. It's entertaining and easy to watch. That's the shock of it all. The actors here give it their all. Bradford is a nice guy and like I said, he is easy to like. Christensen is even better. Even though she plays the 'psycho girl' role pretty much by the numbers, she still does it pretty well. A pat on the back to both of them for trying their hardest to keep this sinking ship afloat. Shiri Appleby is given the typical girlfriend in trouble role. Anybody can do this role in their sleep. I like her, and I am waiting for her to do something that is worthy. Veteran character actor Dan Hedaya also appears as the swim coach. Wasn't given very much to do. It's fun to watch and enjoyable, but boy will you feel guilty afterwards!!.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This movie really fell short of my expectations.
Review: I like a good thriller. Unfortunately, this was not a good thriller. The idea behind the movie is a good one. Obsession, sex, stalking, etc. But the dialogue was so cheesy and the premise so far-fetched that this movie lost all of its potential. The ending is a let-down and the acting is mediocre, at best.

If you're into thrillers and have no other choices, you might want to rent this one. Otherwise, go with something else.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Recyled "Fatal Attraction" storyline.
Review: There is really not much to recommend in this movie.
The basic storyline is another "fatal attraction"
plot about a young man (Ben Cronin) meeting an
attractive young woman (Madison Bell), having an
affair, and having the young woman gradually and
more psychotically obsess over him.

The plot is somewhat unbelievable, in that she becomes
so psychotically, and murderously possessive. Furthermore,
many events occur that make you say "how the heck could
that have happened?" She seems to be able to do so many
terrible things, with nobody actually catching her in
the act. Furthermore, the movie ends quickly, with the
various plot twists occuring too neatly for the story to
be very credible.

I'll leave it at that. I keep this review vague so as
not to give away to much, in case you actually decide
you want to see it. I gave it two stars, because it was
not a totally wretched movie, yet, the story was not
original at all, and, despite the title, you barely get
to see any women in swimsuits.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fatal Attraction for Teenagers
Review: Jesse Bradford, Shiri Appleby, and Erika Christensen star in this teenage thriller about a high school swimmer who has a one-night stand with the new girl at school. Jesse Bradford plays Ben Cronin, an all-state caliber swimmer who has dreams of going to college on a swimming scholarship. Shiri Appleby is Amy, Ben's devoted girlfriend. Their relationship is going along smoothly until new girl Madison Bell (Erika Christensen) comes to school.

Madison is immediately attracted to Ben, and Ben sems intrigued by Madison. At first, the two just flirt innocently, but finally, the flirtation turns into a night of lovemaking in the pool. Ben tries to keep the encounter between himself and Madison, but Madison is becoming completely obsessed with Ben. She even shows up at his house bearing flowers for his mother.

Finally, Madison tells Amy about their encounter and she is devastated. Meanwhile, strange things are occuring. One of Ben's swim team friends is found floating in the pool, and Amy is run off the road by someone driving Ben's car. Immediately, Ben becomes a suspect and must fight to clear his name and stop Madison.

This film follows the same format as "Fatal Attraction". The plot and circumstances are very similar. I enjoyed this film overall. I thought the premise and the acting was good, especially by Erika Christensen. However, the movie only runs 85 minutes, so I thought it seemed rushed at times. Suspense and action movie fans should enjoy this thriller.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: It deserves two stars for making me laugh so hard!
Review: When my fiance and I rented this movie last night, I expected some decent mindless entertainment, but never in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated something this outrageously horrible. Somehow, "Swimfan" manages to be as stupid and ridiculous as anything with Arnold Schwarzenegger or Chuck Norris in it. I mean, I've heard of unintentional comedy before, but this movie is off the charts! One scene early on is more than enough to let you know just what you're in for. High school swimming star Ben is in a pool making out with seductive newcomer Madison, whom he's just met about thirty-six hours before (despite the fact that he has an extremely attractive girlfriend), when she suddenly asks him to tell her he loves her...AND HE ACTUALLY DOES IT! Now, I'm sure it's nothing new for a guy to tell a girl he loves her in order to get laid, but when a girl you've known for about two days asks you to tell her you love her...well, that should be a clue that she might be a little bit on the obsessive side. From there, of course, things just get worse. Madison becomes convinced she and Ben are an item, Ben tries to convince her that they're not, Madison goes psycho and tries to ruin Ben's life, people start dying, and the unintentional laughs just keep coming. Of course, it's pretty hard to feel bad for Ben because he was stupid enough to cheat on his girlfriend with a lunatic like Madison to begin with. I think the only movie that ever made me laugh harder than "Swimfan" was "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," but the difference is that "Holy Grail" was MEANT to be funny. Actually, "Swimfan" takes its cues almost directly from "Fatal Attraction," but since it's aimed at teenagers rather than adults it's even more absurd than its predecessor. So whereas "Fatal Attraction" was just a bad movie, "Swimfan" manages to cross that invisible line into "So bad it's funny" territory. I'm only 24, but if stuff like this is what teenagers are watching now, I fear for the future of our great country.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Great Teen Movie
Review: This is an awasome movie and really liked it.One thing when ur doing the wild thing dont ever say u love a person unless u mean it cause this is a perfect example of what might happen if u find a girl like this and do the wild thing with her.But before we get the dirty part of this movie this is good movie and is not a chick flick.My doggs out there watch who u do things with.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Flik!
Review: I am amazed to see how many people gave this movie a bad review. I have never seen fatal attraction, but I am sure there are some similarities. However, I thought the movie was beautifully brought to life by the actors, as well as the director. I will say, however, this movie seems to be more enjoyable to the 13-25 year old crowd. This is because it is set in a high school, so most youngsters can relate. If you are a stiff old grump, dont watch the movie and [criticize] it later. Let the yougsters have their fun and their own fatal attraction.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Two thirds good, one third awful
Review: As everybody else has said, "Swimfan" is a remake of "Fatal attraction", with teenage actors and, unfortunately, a teenage script.

Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) has recovered from a drug problem to be an excellent swimmer on the verge of receiving a swimming scholarship in one of the most prestigious universities of California. He has a beautiful girlfriend, Amy (Shiri Appleby) and good friends, i.e., his life seems back on track. Then, Madison Bell (the great Erika Christensen, from "Traffic") enters the scene and manages to get from Ben one night and one phrase she won't ever forget: "I love you". From then one, Ben's life gets increasingly difficult with unexpected (well, not THAT unexpected, in fact) and dangerous situations.

The first hour of the movie is quite interesting and I was paying attention to the screen. Australian (and almost unknown) director John Polson, even with an obvious treatment to the movie, was able to pass to the screen the tension of the basic script. And he was greatly helped by the actors, mainly the foremost trio (Bradford, Appleby and specially Christensen), young actors that show talent and dedication. Erika Christensen was already good in "Traffic", and in "Swimfan" she once again proves she can act.

The last half-hour of the movie, however, is disastrous. The sequence of scenes are so silly and tedious that they destroyed the whole film. I guess I was half-expecting "Swimfan" not to be unforgettable, but its last third made it almost ridiculous.

Two thirds passable, one third awful, do the math and we get three stars. Maybe that's overrating "Swimfan", but let's just leave it this way.

Grade 6.0/10

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bloody Water.
Review: This is a horrible movie. I can't possibly think of any reason anyone would want to watch this garbage. It's terribly written, predictable, and badly acted. I was almost falling asleep through most of it, near the end when she's beating at him and his girlfriend in the pool with that mop thing, or pool net or whatever it was, is just laughably ridiculous. I'd rather drown myself in a mudhole than watch Swimfan again.


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