IMDb user comments for Swimfan (2002):
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. I agree. Shiri Appleby does wonders with her sadly underwritten role as his girlfriend. Christensen is excellent as Bell. She's both beautiful and very scary. yes she's good, I dunno if find her beautiful though. Author: Wayne Malin from United States
Indeed, Ben has every thing going for him: popularity, good looks, athletic prowess, a devoted mother, a girlfriend who loves him – and it all threatens to come crashing down around him after just one night of unbridled passion with this fresh-from-out-of-town psychotic nut case. well said.
About the only interesting aspect of `Swimfan' is how it shows that, in this technologically advanced age, a genuine stalker now has so many more options at his or her disposal – answering machines, cell phones, pagers, voice mail, email, instant messages. The possibilities are endless. It's enough to make one long for the good old days when an obsessed paramour had to at least foot the bill for a phone call or buy a stamp to send a deranged letter, or at least find ever more clever ways of skulking around. Stalking just seems way too easy these days. Technology appears to have taken all the challenge out of it. huh. Author: Roland E. Zwick from United States
Swimfan" is such a successful commercial formula that it is surprising the industry has not since jumped on this idea more often. Find an older film(s) that had good box office results (in this case "Play Misty for Me" and "Fatal Attraction"). Change the story to target a young audience not exposed to the originals. Keep the costs modest by using a cast that works cheap and not staging any elaborate action sequences-pour more budget into promotion than into production, then just wait for some nice profits. There is almost no risk because it doesn't have to be a mega-hit, even if the critics hate it the promotional efforts should guarantee more than enough attendance to put this thing into the profitable category. The only thing more money-in-the-bank is Disney's re-release of its classics to a new audience every eight years. there was sth else I skimmed when it was on tv that was a re-make of sth adult "for the hs crowd?" what was that? oh I know, maybe: Cruel Intentions was "Dangerous Liasions" for the hs crowd right?
said it before: I like versions. Calasso: myths contain their variants.
Although portrayed one-dimensionally, the obsessive character in 'Misty" and "Fatal Attraction" was a deep thinker compared to "Swimfan's" Madison. Erika Christensen must play her as a character that comes with zero motivation. The script provides no way for her to communicate what attracts Madison to high-school athletes, what makes her instantly obsessive toward Ben (Jesse Bradford), or even what she finds attractive about him. hmm. the az rvwr seemed to see sth. but ok you did not. and I didn't find it.
They appear to be going somewhere with the revelations about Madison's old boyfriend but these are inserted to advance the action and not as motivational explanations. Fortunately, Christensen is talented enough to subtly convey weirdness even before her hook-up with Ben takes place. yep yep that was good. Speaking of which, Ben and Madison's sexual tumble in the swimming pool is the movie's one moment of true excellence. huh prob true: This is a case where the constraints of keeping a PG rating inspired rather than hindered, as the director ends up with a far more inventive and erotic scene than would have occurred had he been able to be more graphic.
What is tragic is that the director really hit a home run in the casting of Christensen. With those big, round, blankly lidded eyes (the only feature that distinguishes her from her lookalike Julia Stiles), she could have brought real depth to her character-she simply glows when on the screen. Superficially Christensen plays the same basic character in "Home Room", "Traffic", "The Upside of Anger", and even "The Perfect Score". But she does something completely different with each of them and really demonstrates amazing talent. Author: aimless-46 from Kentucky
"Swimfan" (an inept title if ever I've seen one) Author: MrGKB from Ohio huh I think it's fine. (it's Madison's screen name when sends ems and ims, and the swimming figures as consistent setting, and seems like his athletic prowess is what draws her and 'fan' is nice as obvious understatement.

Swimfan DVD review: Ben sneaks into Madison's room at the Dante home, and practically discovers the script -heh I like that- it's one of those all-too-convenient scenes in which the hero discovers precisely what he needs to know, and sees nothing else at all.
...the all-too-neat ending. (Though Ben remains kicked off the swim team.) ah good observatn, he is sitting on sidelines at th end. and do we know if his mom survived the attack (he found then left her lying on kitchen floor)?
...the sound in the film is adequate for an independent film. (Fox picked it up.) huh.
...The entire teenage cast consists of devastatingly handsome or meltingly beautiful actors; even James DeBello as the movie's required dweeb, is very handsome except, of course, for glasses, which everyone routinely treats as a grotesque disfigurement.