Review of Swimfan

Swimfan (2002)
7/10
A teen "Fatal Attraction"
12 September 2002
Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) has it all--he's a high schooler with a great mother, a wonderful girlfriend and a great career ahead of him as a swimmer. However he meets beautiful Madison Bell (Erika Christensen) and (stupidly) has sex with her. It turns out she's a psycho and when he rejects her she goes out to turn his life into a living hell...and she's not above murdering someone.

Totally predictable but surprisingly not bad at all. The characters talk and act like teens (although they all look their age--early 20s), the story moves fairly quickly and I was never bored. There are some glaring lapses in logic but, while I was watching the movie, they didn't bother me. For instance, it's impossible for Bell to do all the things she does. Also the sex and violence is very toned down for the PG-13 rating. Good performances really make the film work. Bradford is very good as Cronin. Handsome, muscular and believable. Shiri Appleby does wonders with her sadly underwritten role as his girlfriend. Christensen is excellent as Bell. She's both beautiful and very scary.

No masterpiece bit a good, solid teen thriller. I paid $9.50 and thought it was money well spent! Worth catching.
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