Swimfan

Swimfan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Polson
Produced by	Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr. John Penotti
Written by	Charles Bohl Phillip Schneider
Starring	Jesse Bradford Erika Christensen Shiri Appleby Clayne Crawford Jason Ritter Dan Hedaya
Music by	Louis Febre (score) John Debney (theme)
Cinematography	Giles Nuttgens
Editing by	Sarah Flack
Studio	GreeneStreet Films Cobalt Media Group
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Box office	$34,411,240

Swimfan, also known as Fanatica, is a 2002 erotic thriller film directed by John Polson and written by Charles Bohl and Phillip Schneider. Considered a Fatal Attraction for a teenage audience, the film stars Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, and Shiri Appleby.

Plot

Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) is a a star swimmer of his high school's swim team. His coach pulls him aside before practice and informs him that Stanford University scouts will appear at next week's swimming meet. He and his girlfriend Amy, discuss their future plans. Amy has her heart set on going to school in Rhode Island, but explains that she will go to school in California to stay close to Ben.

The next day, Ben nearly runs his car into Madison Bell (Erika Christensen) and he gives her a ride home as an apology. Later, he realizes that Madison left her notebook in his car. The notebook is filled with music notes, and Ben spots his initials written inside a staff. When he brings the notebook to return it, he meets Madison's cousin, Christopher (James Debello). Madison interrupts and thanks Ben for returning it. Madison appears stressed, and explains that she hasn't eaten all day, and so Ben offers to take her out to eat. At dinner, Ben tells Madison about his girlfriend Amy (Shiri Appleby), but Madison doesn't appear too crushed that Ben is in a relationship. She explains that she has a boy waiting for her in New York City. Ben shares some of his past. He explains that he began doing drugs five years ago, which led to crime and six months in juvenile hall, which "saved him" because he ultimately realized his passion and talent for swimming. Although Ben tries to end the date, Madison convinces him to go to the pool. Madison's aggressive flirtation lures in Ben and despite his initial hesitancy, the two end up having sex. Ben drives Madison home and they both agree to remain friends. They also conclude that they will not discuss their steamy encounter with any of their friends.

The next night, Ben goes to a party at Amy's house. Amy introduces Ben to her new friend, who turns out to be Madison. The two pretend to have not met one another yet. Shortly after, Madison begins to obsess over Ben - she stops by his house to meet his mom and bombards Ben with e-mails and instant messages. Ben realizes her unhealthy behavior and furiously demands that she leave him alone. Ben's lying begins to eat at him, and so he decides he will confess his infidelity to Amy, but Madison tells Amy first. Madison begins dating Ben's rival teammate, Josh. Right before their biggest swim competition, Ben is disqualified for having steroids in his urine, prompting questions from those close to him about his drug habits. Ben is outraged and explains that there has been a mistake, and suspects that Madison had convinced Josh to set Ben up. Ben confronts Josh about the drug test, revealing his suspicion. Days later, Madison accidentally calls Josh by Ben's name while they are kissing in a car. Josh realizes that Madison's obsession with Ben is real, and tells her off.

Ben tries to tell Amy everything, but she does not believe him. The next day, Ben goes to the pool, where he finds Josh dead. The police suspect that Ben is to blame for Josh's murder. To prove his innocence, Ben breaks into Madison's room to find evidence against her. He discovers a bottle of steroids, and a creepy shrine of his personal belongings that she has been secretly stashing. Christopher warns Ben of a similar case regarding a man named Jake Donnelly. When Ben visits Jake Donnelly (Monroe Mann) in the hospital, a nurse (Patricia Rae) tells him that Jake's girlfriend Madison survived the crash.

Madison disguises herself as Ben and steals his car. She follows Amy home from school and runs Amy off the road, and again Ben is framed for the crime. That night at the hospital, Ben and a few friends record Madison confessing her crime and intentions. The police arrest Madison. She manages to escape custody and take Amy as a hostage to the school's swimming pool. As Ben watches, Madison throws a handcuffed and chairbound Amy into the pool. Ben saves Amy, and in a fit of insanity, Madison falls into the pool and drowns. Ben gives Amy mouth to mouth and she becomes conscious.

Some time later, at a swim meet, Ben is a spectator. He goes outside to his car, where he and Amy kiss and happily drive away.

Cast

• Jesse Bradford as Ben Cronin
• Erika Christensen as Madison Bell
• Shiri Appleby as Amy Miller
• Kate Burton as Carla Cronin
• Clayne Crawford as Josh
• Jason Ritter as Randy
• Kia Joy Goodwin as Rene
• James Debello as Christopher Dante
• Dan Hedaya as Coach Simkins
• Michael Higgins as Mr. Tillman
• Nick Sandow as Detective John Zabel
• Pamela Isaacs as Mrs. Egan
• Phyllis Somerville as Aunt Gretchen Christopher
• Monroe Mann as Jake Donnelly
• Patricia Rae as Jake's nurse

Reception

The worldwide box office gross was $34,411,240, with nearly a third of that earned during its domestic first-place showing for its opening weekend.

Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes holds a 14% 'Rotten' rating, with the consensus, "A Fatal Attraction rip-off, Swimfan is a predictable, mediocre thriller."

Peter Bradshaw gave the film (two stars out of five), calling it a "teen Fatal Attraction with an unappetising extra helping of Scream" and saying it lacks "the sardonic wit that parts of the script had seemed initially to promise." Variety described it as a "chiller resolutely without chills, in which even the pool water always seems heated. And inasmuch as the pic never owns up to its own trashiness, it's not even enjoyable camp—like Mary Lambert's recent The In-Crowd—even though there's about as much underage drinking, heavy petting and full-on sex as you can imagine this side of a very surprising PG-13 rating."

Soundtrack

Main article: Swimfan (Soundtrack)

The soundtrack album includes songs by Ash, Pacifier, Pay the Girl, and Sevendust, among others.

External links

• Swimfan at the Internet Movie Database
• Swimfan at AllRovi
• Swimfan at Rotten Tomatoes
• Swimfan at Box Office Mojo