Swimfan
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Swimfan -- A high school senior swimming star (Jesse Bradford) regrets cheating on his sweetheart (Shiri Appleby) with a seductive new classmate (Erika Christensen) who stalks him, exacting a violent revenge when he refuses to continue the relationship. Director John Polson conjures up a tamer teen version of "Fatal Attraction" that is essentially predictable and forgettable. A discreet sexual encounter, brief violence, implied affairs and an instance of profanity. A-III -- adults. (PG-13) 2002
Full Review
A high school senior's worst nightmare materializes in the form a seductress-turned-stalker in the derivative suspense drama, "Swimfan" (20th Century Fox).
Thanks in part to supportive girlfriend Amy (Shiri Appleby), Ben has overcome a drug problem and become the high school's swimming star, with a shot at an athletic scholarship. The two seniors are planning a future together, possibly moving in together when they get to college.
Sultry new classmate Madison (Erika Christensen), however, corners Ben at a vulnerable moment alone in the pool one night. He is too ashamed to tell Amy he has cheated on her and soon finds Madison insistently insinuating herself into his life. When he resists her, Madison turns vengeful.
The poorly developed script gives us no notions why the petulant Madison turns psycho but soon her sly manipulations get him thrown off the swimming team, fired from his after-school job -- and suspected of murder. Next Madison sets her sights on rival Amy.
Director John Polson's teen thriller falls apart in the unbelievable final act but is none too involving beforehand, either. The story comes across as a cautionary tale, a tamer teen version of 1987's "Fatal Attraction" without the fiery performances of Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Here, Christensen and Bradford are subdued versions of the illicit couple whose one-night stand will have fatal consequences. The swimming scenes are sleekly photographed but the movie simply coasts along building little momentum.
Kate Burton is wasted as Ben's mom and Dan Hedaya is given little to do but scowl as Ben's skeptical swim coach. Viewers are likely to find Ben's character exasperating for getting involved with someone so obviously bad-news from the get-go. Nor is Madison's ability to outwit two armed cops very credible.
The movie's sense of morality clearly suggests infidelity can have dire consequences and therefore is to be avoided. For the Catholic audience, however, the suggestion of teen-age abstinence would have been welcome.
Due to a discreet sexual encounter, brief violence, implied affairs and an instance of profanity, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.