neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Swimfan
	John Polson Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, Shiri Appleby, Kate Burton, Dan Hedaya 2002		Let's hope that talented young actress Erika Christensen ("Traffic") doesn't find her career going under because of her role in this soggy excuse for a thriller. A silly, teen-skewed cross-breed of "Dawson's Creek" and "Fatal Attraction," "Swimfan" is immersed in a double-feature's worth of clichés from the sordid history of slasher films — and it throws logic into the deep end. Varsity swimmer Ben (Jesse Bradford of "Bring It On") and his cute, down-to-earth girlfriend (Shiri Appleby of TV's "Roswell") make a perfect, wholesome couple. But they're torn apart during senior year when an outwardly angelic, inwardly devilish blonde, played by Christensen, transfers to their high school, has a one-night stand with Ben and inexplicably goes psycho. The familiar set-ups and implementations are so numerous and obvious that they swiftly become comical. The absurdities of the new girl's monstrous behavior and her ability to do implausible, hysterical evil add to the hilarity. And the "high-schoolers" all look in their 20s.