Swimfan (2002)

Poster credit the Internet Movie Database
A year ago, 20th Century Fox came up with a great, original idea for a movie. It's about a popular high school sport great who doesn't do something honestly. Wow, what a unique idea for a movie that became Swimfan.

Swimfan revovles around Ben Cronin. He's played by 25-year-old-going-on-18 Jesse Bradford. It seems odd that Bradford would do this immediately after Clockstoppers. Just seems like they're two totally different types of movies. Anyway, Ben is a swim champ who has a steady girlfriend. The scouts are looking for him next week. But, Madison Bell comes into his life. She's Erika Christensen, who is one of the only good parts of the movie. Ben and Madison have an "affair", and Ben wants to forget about it, but Madison still loves him.

Madison decides to stalk him. The title of this film represents her email address, SwimFan85 (which is a stupid reason to name a film). Also, how many internet companies have automated voices when you log on asking you for your password? I know AOL doesn't. Back to the review. Ben's lack of interest makes her mad. "Interesting" events come into play.

What made me dislike this movie so much is its lack of script. After the movie, my brother and I were searching for word they used that were over three syllables (we had a tough time). The plot was extremely predictable (I knew what would happen before I saw it), and they gave away almost all the "plot twists" in the commercials. It's scary how clueless Ben was in the movie. If I was in his prediciment, I would have known from early on that Madison was a psycho.

I felt, also, like it was demeaning to "nerds". It says that they're all too shy or too geeky to make friends, which is not true. We find out about Ben's past early on, but the movie tries to make us like him early on so that we can still root for him. I felt like it was too unrealistic. Nobody caught on to Madison's plans? Wow, what a bunch of airheads.

The only real good part (besides it's short runtime) was Erika Christensen. She is a talented actress who knows her part well. If she wasn't in the movie, I would have lowered it. Christensen seems to catch on to her character and makes us (at least me) like her in the movie.

But, despite that, Swimfan is really just stereotyped teens who don't know if they should go with that other girl for the night. If you're looking for a high-class, well thought out, intellegent script, look elsewhere, my friend. There's nothing here for you.

Rated PG-13 for violence, thematic elements, and language.

Review Date: September 8, 2002