Swimming with Sharks

It's sarcastic, abusive, aggressive, and pretty darn bleak.....For a comedy, it's pretty darn bleak.....If all you remember of this film is Kevin Spacey screaming his head off, you owe it to yourself to give the flick a second spin.....Swimming with Sharks feels like real-life angst and well-earned frustration as poured out into screenplay form.....Regardless of which audio track you choose, expect to hear Spacey's bombastic bellowings in fine aural form..... ... Full Review

The film is a fantastic combination of dark comedy and drama.....become tired after half of the movie....Kevin Spacey is absolutely fabulous as the meglomaniacal studio executive who seems to take pleasure in berating Guy.....However, Spacey's scenes, where he belittles and berates Guy, are hilarious..... ... Full Review

Swimming With Sharks" could turn into an in-joke wallow for disgruntled Hollywood types but the joke really isn't all that funny. As fascinatingly repellent as it is, "Swimming With Sharks" takes out its Hollywood hatred in ways that seem absurdly overwrought. ... Full Review

Swimming With Sharks,'' despite its attempt to be wicked and hiply fun, is ultimately just tiring as it pits people against one another. Spacey's such a lively talent that he nearly succeeds in keeping the story of a predatory movie mogul and his victimized assistant's audacious revenge from caving in on itself. ... Full Review

You are here for me ," Spacey takes such palpable delight in being a suave hard-ass that it's impossible not to like him. Spacey makes us see how idealism can calcify, over years of disappointment and stress, into cynicism, self-hatred, cruelty. ... Full Review

Imagine my surprise, then, when I finally got around to watching Whaley and company in "Swimming With Sharks" and, surprise, enjoying the hell out of it. He's supposed to represent the average, good-intentioned film school grad, but he seems too sheltered and too clueless as to the way things really are in the business. ... Full Review

Swimming With Sharks" is an entertaining movie and something of a revenge fantasy for anyone who's ever been screwed by a boss, which is everyone.....a good script and solid supporting performances can make anyone look good.....Well, "Swimming With Sharks" proves the adage....He's supposed to represent the average, good-intentioned film school grad.... ... Full Review

The best parts of " Swimming With Sharks " are in the details - in how Guy develops telephone and lying skills, or how Buddy manipulates the phones. Huang finds great humor in that situation, and, unless I am mistaken, some quiet bitterness as well. ... Full Review

That vengeance-is-sweet cliché is the entire point of Swimming With Sharks ; while the story, though entertaining, may be repetitive as hell, the schmuck getting his own backand that incredible twist endingmake it all worthwhile. Equally first-rate is Frank Whaley ... Full Review

Given this it's surprising how much of a mess is made of the story, rendering it flat and unpleasant. The blame must lie with the direction, which fails to introduce the required level of tension, to contrast the light/dark sides of the film industry and to produce characters which we have any feelings for. ... Full Review