Rating: 
Summary: overwrought
Review: The vicious world of Hollywood deal makers may be ripe for satire, but Swimming With Sharks does the job in such an obvious, implausible way that I never bought into the situation. Kevin Spacey as the acid-spewing Buddy Ackerman is fun to watch, as always, but the choices that Guy (played by Frank Whaley), the main character, makes don't ring true once; credit Whaley's skin deep portrayal of the character for half of the film's problems. Ironically, for a movie whose underlying subject matter deals with screenplay pitching and approval, the other major failing is the film's script. There are some funny, cutting lines, but after awhile it becomes monotonous to see Guy continue to allow himself to be abused. The viewer is given little in the sense of an emotional progression from the earnest, capitulative character we see at the beginning of the film to the point where Guy snaps, and his ultimate decision is neither darkly funny nor affecting, just merely unbelievable in light of everything that has come before. Swimming With Sharks had potential that might have blossomed with a couple more re-writes, but as it stands it hovers on the rather irritating underside of mediocrity.
Rating: 
Summary: Spacey at his best
Review: This is a must see for anyone who is a Kevin Spacey fan. From "Seven" to "The Usual Suspects" to "American Beauty", "Swimming with Sharks" is his best work to date. A Five Star rating from one who rarely gives all five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing but hysterical film, and Spacey is fantastic
Review: Very enjoyable, very well-written and well-constructed film. The dialogue's on fire, particularly Spacey's role. Quality comedy, with a dark twist.
Rating:
Summary: You Gotta Love This Town!
Review: Arguably Kevin Spacey's finest hour in which he plays a powerful, soulless, studio executive who daily grinds his new, innocent, personal assistant into dust beneath his bootheel. "Sharks" simultaneously illustrates the most brutal, as well as blackest comical sides, of the depths to which Hollywood hopefuls will sink in order to make it. It's still unclear, even after dozens of viewings, as to whether the ending is "happy" or not. You decide.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for Kevin Spacey fans and Hollywood Insider Wannabes
Review: Kevin Spacey has emerged as one of America's leading actors in the past few years: "Swimming With Sharks" is a delightful exhibition of his unique blend of sarcasm, viciousness, and versatility. Few characters could be as much fun for an actor to play as Barry Ackerman, the immoral, hedonistic, abuse-spewing film executive idealistic young Guy toils away for. Spacey takes obvious relish in lines such as "Her phone bills are more than your rent," "He's not dead; he's just . . . unavailable," and particularly, "If you were in my toilet, I wouldn't bother to flush you." Guy, an idealistic young film graduate, has somehow landed one of the cream jobs in Hollywood as assistant to Ackerman. How he got the job is a mystery, as Guy seems to have no idea of what goes on in the movie business and has not met Ackerman before. Guy can speak movingly about the movies he watched in his youth -- maybe that's enough to become a mini-mogul in Hollywood these days. Michelle Forbes' Dawn, a producer, inexplicably falls for Guy, although we are supposed to believe that this beautiful, rich, powerful woman is attracted to Guy's honesty and naivete. Funny how those traits work on beautiful, rich, powerful women in the movies. The movie bounces back and forth between Guy getting his revenge on Barry for the hell he's gone through as Barry's lackey and the flashback shots of Guy's humiliating experiences. Throughout the movie we are treated to little Hollywood inside jokes (for example, the "hot young director" in the movie is Foster Kane, the name of Orson Welles' infamous protagonist in "Citizen Kane"). An enjoyable trip through the dark side of the movie business, "Sharks" contains just enough reality to keep the more outlandish plot developments grounded. Not as savage as "In the Company of Men," and not as complex as "The Player," "Swimming With Shars" is nevertheless a solid ninety minutes that will sustain Kevin Spacey fans who have watched "The Usual Suspects," "Se7en," "American Beauty," or "Glengarry Glen Ross" too many times. Be warned: the videotape is of poor quality and may wear out more quickly than other high-budget releases.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie!
Review: This movie is so realistic. All of Spacey's lines were so funny. The movie didn't seem all that funny while watching it but afterwards you think of the situations and the lines and it was hilarius!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful dark comedy
Review: A young man named Guy (Frank Whaley) has held his jackass of a boss, Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey), hostage. That's about it. The movie is one big flash back of what hell Guy had to go through. Kevin Spacey is wonderful as always, and Frank Whaley does well too. This is one of my favorite movies!
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific little black comedy with a twist
Review: Although "Wiseguy" and "Glengarry GlenRoss" were behind him, Kevin Spacey was still a year away from"Se7en" and "The Usual Suspects" when he starred in this nifty number about the boss from hell as movie executive. Spacey hounds and torments his latest assistant, played by Frank Whaley, and tries to decide whether to option a film proposal by luscious director Michelle Forbes. Forbes hooks up with Whaley as a method of getting to Spacey, and Whaley eventually turns the tables on and tortures his boss. There are lots of hilarious lines, but the one I remember best is: "You're happy -- I HATE that!" . . . Whaley's performance is a bit weak. The romance between him and Forbes (who is delectable but not given that much to do -- pity her meaty lead in Peter Berg's promising 2000 series "Wonderland" disappeared when the network axed the controversial show after just two episodes) is sketchy and not terribly believable. And, deliciously shocking though the ending is, it strains credulity too. But Spacey ... ah, god, Spacey; has he EVER flopped in a role? END
Rating:
Summary: Job training at it's best!
Review: Anyone who is thinking about going into any sort of management should watch this movie...and don't be like Kevin Spacey. (Unless you like tabasco in open wounds)
Rating:
Summary: Too close to reality
Review: Across the top of the front on the snap case it states "Hilarious". I didn't find this film funny at all. Perhaps that's attributable to the differences between American and British humour. On the other hand it may be because I understand that the film depicts a situation that is not that far from reality, or any distance from it at all. This film is a very well acted drama. I wonder if the subject would have been better suited to the stage than the big screen.
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