I remember this movie when it was released in 1987 and it was called Fatal Attraction. Apparently, the suits in Hollywood decided that Generation Y needed their own version and released Swimfan in 2002.
Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) is a star on the high school swim team. Having recently overcome an addiction to drugs and depression, his swimming has allowed him to focus on the good things in life. He has a very beautiful girlfriend (Shiri Appleby) who is planning their future together after high school. Things are great for Ben Cronin. That is, until Madison Bell (Erika Christensen) moves in to town.
Through a series of possibly random events, Ben and Madison eventually have a night of passion in a swimming pool. Ben, realizing he’s made a mistake, tries to break it to Madison that there’s no future between the two of them. Madison doesn’t seem to be able to take “no” for an answer.
It would lend too much to this film’s significance to get into any discussion of the rights and wrongs of the individual character’s actions. This film should have either tried to do something original with the concept or not have been made at all. The only reason I’m giving it a “one and a half star” rating is because the performances aren’t horrible. Jesse Bradford is highly reminiscent of Freddie Prinze, Jr. but manages to be likeable. Erika Christensen is not bad at being the jilted lover. These aren’t Academy Award level performances, just performances worthy of a half star.
Director John Polson has an annoying habit of stuttering some scenes so that lines of dialogue are repeated as if on a delay. I suppose this is to add tension to a scene or to emphasize Madison’s obvious mental problems but since the dialogue and plot are so ham-fisted this technique only manages to completely annihilate the possibility of anything subtle creeping into this film at all.
Save yourself the annoyance and just rent Fatal Attraction instead. It might be a little less techno-savvy and its stars might not be so nubile, but it’s certainly a more intense film.
1.5 out of 5.0 stars
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