Review of Swimming with Sharks (1994) by Rama Krishna C — 11 Mar 2012

Rex: This is not a business, this is show business. Punching below the belt is not only all right, it's rewarded. .

"Life is not a movie".

I loved everything about Swimming With the Sharks, right up until the unsatisfying ending. Even with an ending that leaves something to be desired, this is still a worthwhile and extremely good film. It's dark and it's funny. Two things I love in movies. It has Kevin Spacey doing what he does best and that is acting like a complete asshole. It has Frank Whaley acting as a cowardly assistant, and he is perfectly cast. .

I can see some people not enjoying this movie at all. It's all dialogue and little action. Most of the runtime is spent watching an assistant get yelled at for the smallest things. But it's funny and extremely well written. Every tirade that Kevin Spacey goes on feels perfect. The changes in Frank Whaley's character feel perfect. This movie feels perfect. If only it could have come up with the perfect ending.

The movies plot follows an assistant to a movie executive. He gets in a relationship with a producer and begins to put plans together for a movie. He has to deal with his difficult boss and every little detail of the mans life. It gets to the point where he can do almost nothing else. Every aspect of his life is ruled by his boss.

I love movies of this type. It has a definite feeling of independent filmmaking powering it. It's a pretty harsh and dark comedy, which I love. As a fan of dark movies, I feel that this does just about everything right. It developed it's characters in a way that made us genuinely care about one and hate the other. It presented dark themes in humorous ways, and it never backed away from how depressing Guy's life is, now that he is under the command of Buddy.

This would probably be one of my favorites of all-time if it had found a better way to wrap up the story.