Swimfan (2002)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

John Polson

Writers (WGA):

Charles F. Bohl (written by) &
Phillip Schneider (written by)

Release Date:

6 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Obsession. Betrayal. Revenge. Some girls have all the fun.

Plot:

A high school senior with a promising swimming career has a one-night stand with consequences.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Hospital | Swimming | Athlete | Elevator

Cast

Jesse Bradford	...	Ben Cronin
Erika Christensen	...	Madison Bell
Shiri Appleby	...	Amy Miller
Kate Burton	...	Carla Cronin
Clayne Crawford	...	Josh
Jason Ritter	...	Randy
Kia Goodwin	...	Rene (as Kia Joy Goodwin)
Dan Hedaya	...	Coach Simkins
Michael Higgins	...	Mr. Tillman
Nick Sandow	...	Detective John Zabel
Pamela Isaacs	...	Mrs. Egan
James DeBello	...	Christopher Dante (as James Debello)
Phyllis Somerville	...	Aunt Gretchen Christopher
Tom Cappadona	...	Janitor
Malcolm Barrett	...	Jock

Also Known As:

Swimf@n (USA) (alternative title)
Swimfan85 (USA) (working title)
Tell Me You Love Me

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexual content, disturbing images and language.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL | Finland:K-15 | Brazil:14 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Germany:12 | India:A | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39018)

Filming Locations:

Bayonne High School - Avenue A & 28th Street, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Cobalt Media Group

Trivia:

The scenes inside Madison's house are the only ones where a light blue tint was not added to the screen.

Goofs:

Continuity: Ben takes off his jacket when he arrives at Amy's party. When Amy introduces him to Madison, he's wearing the jacket for one shot.

Quotes:

Madison: You said that you loved me!
Ben: You told me to.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dawson's Creek: The Importance of Not Being Too Earnest (#6.3)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

It's Nothing New

Fodder that seems to work better than it should

Ben Cronin (Bradford) is one of those high schoolers that almost had it all: plenty of good friends, a sweet girlfriend (Appleby), and the swimming skills of a champion. His life and success track are scrambled, however, with the introduction to Madison Bell (Christensen), a vixen who becomes smitten with him. Madison seduces Ben in the pool one night, and while he feels guilty after a session of horizontal watersports, Masison goes Glen Close in Fatal Attraction crazy when he turns her down, and the movie starts to turn.

From the previews, Swimfan looked like a bad movie, an "Attraction" set in high school suburbia with Michael Douglas' role as a swim fanatic instead of a businessman. While the last third of the picture veers off heavily into the land of the un-yielding female revenge cliche, the first two-thirds of the film are actually a pretty provocative, tight character study with issues of infidelity and confidence. Christensen, who made a startling breakout role as a judge's intoxicated daughter in 2000's Traffic, plays it rather straight and sensual, which gives the film a boost, until her over-the-top climax, and shows that, in a B-movie sort of showcase, she can hold her own. B-