Swimming with Sharks (1994)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.0/10   

Réalisateur:

George Huang

Scénariste:

George Huang (writer)

Release Date:

21 mars 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedie | Drame

Accroche:

Back Stabbing - Two Faced - Revenge

Plot:

A young, naive Hollywood studio assistant finally turns the tables on his incredibly abusive producer boss.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Boss | Assistant | Movie Producer | Torture

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

For anyone who's ever had a vindictive boss - or a job at all, for that matter

Ensemble

Kevin Spacey	...	Buddy Ackerman
Frank Whaley	...	Guy
Michelle Forbes	...	Dawn Lockard
Benicio Del Toro	...	Rex
T.E. Russell	...	Foster Kane
Roy Dotrice	...	Cyrus Miles
Matthew Flint	...	Manny
Patrick Fischler	...	Moe
Jerry Levine	...	Jack

Autre(s) titre(s):

The Boss
The Buddy Factor
Swimming with Sharks (France) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for some scenes of psychological/physical torture and pervasive strong language.

Durée:

101 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Son:

Dolby

Classification:

Australia:MA | Argentina:13 | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG (re-rating) | Iceland:16

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Cineville

Anecdotes:

Buddy Ackerman's character was inspired by real life movie mogul Joel Silver. He's a famous producer Huang used to work for.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dawn loads Guy's washing machines at the Laundromat, we never see either of them put quarters into the slots. Then, when Dawn shoves the handles in to start the cycle, we hear that there are no quarters dropping into the bin.

Guillemet:

Dawn: How about lunch?
Guy: Well, I'm not allowed to take lunch, Buddy doesn't believe in it.

Movie Connections:

References Casualties of War (1989)

Soundtrack:

HALF A LIFE

For anyone who's ever had a vindictive boss - or a job at all, for that matter

"Swimming with Sharks" was made right around the time Kevin Spacey was becoming a rising star - his name was becoming well known enough that he could help finance low budget movies. Along with "The Usual Suspects" he helped "Swimming with Sharks" get off the ground, and now ten years later (it was given wide release in 1995) it still holds up well as a very, very dark comedy.

In fact, comedy isn't the right word. This shouldn't really be classified as comedy. It's not that funny. It works better as a dark satire - I expected something like "War of the Roses," but instead I got a Tarantino version of "Office Space" (complete with torture, violence, revenge and mayhem!).

Frank Whaley stars as Guy, a typical nobody who dreams of being a somebody. (Even his name confines him to anonymity.) When he lands a job working for world-famous producer Buddy Ackerman (Spacey), his future looks bright...until he realizes what he's in for.

Spacey delivers the best performance of the film, yelling, screaming, and throwing hissy fits practically every time he's on screen. But he never pushes the limits. He's always believable as a self-absorbed, ego-maniacal, ruthless producer; the director claims on the DVD commentary track and documentaries that he based the character and many scenes on actual things that happened to him while he worked for unnamed producers in Hollywood. Joel Silver is rumored to have been the basis for Ackerman.

The movie isn't great and never really achieves the amount of laughs I wanted but if you view it as a very dark drama-comedy you're more likely to enjoy it. I still found myself quite entertained and taken aback by how daring and unique this movie actually is - no one can condemn it for resorting to clichés. The ending is a punch in the stomach, I never expected it.

Whaley is good at playing the over/underwhelmed everyman and the direction is OK (if just so). The best aspects are the witty script and Kevin Spacey's scene-stealing performance; together he has good chemistry with Whaley and the movie succeeds based on the actors' success in their roles.