Swimming movie out of sync
Review Swimming With Men (M, 97 min) Directed by Oliver Parker Reviewed by James Croot ★★★
It’s this generation’s The Full Monty, Brassed Off for the sporty and Sink Or Swim for people who don’t like to read movies.
Yes, just two months after a French dramedy inspired by the world championship-winning Swedish men’s synchronised swimming team (Sink or Swim) dropped in Kiwi cinemas, here’s a British take on the same story.
As with Gilles Lellouche’s tale, Oliver Parker’s (An Ideal Husband, the 2016 Dad’s Army remake) film focuses on a group of disparate, troubled men who leave their problems poolside once a week while they bond over balletic aquatic movements.
The audience’s entry into this secret world is accountant Eric Scott (Rob Brydon). Known at work as ‘‘the numbers man’’, he’s become increasingly uninspired at work and home. Wife Heather (Jane Horrocks) has just been elected onto the local council and is spending more and more time with her boss Lewis (Nathaniel Parker).
Seeking solace at his local pool, Eric runs into an eclectic group of guys fumbling their way through a synchronised swimming routine. As he watches their struggle, he can’t resist pointing out that they have a simple ‘‘numbers problems’’: ‘‘If you want the move to work, you’ll have to lose a man.’’
They, however, have an alternative solution.
Parker and The Catherine Tate
Show writer Aschlin Ditta’s tale about a ‘‘broken, beautiful bunch of twats’’ (whose lineup includes a former Crystal Palace youth footballer, a dentist, a gardener and a Robin Hood-in-Reeboks) struggles to find the right balance between pathos and pure comedy (this is a movie that features a sight gag straight out of 1980s cult comedy Caddyshack).
Swimming with Men works best when focused on the interplay between the team’s contrasting characters. The makers have assembled an impressive ensemble that also includes This is England’s Thomas Turgoose, Sherlock’s Rupert Graves, The Big Sick’s Adeel Akhtar and Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, and they do occasionally display some terrific comedic timing. However, each of their backstories just feels a little bit sketchy compared to the morerounded protagonists on display in
Sink or Swim (who also, truth-betold, were more convincing as synchronised swimmers). Likewise, the narrative – disappointingly – follows a fairly predictable path.
That said, Parker’s version is nicely paced, makes clever use of sound and builds towards a crowdpleasing climax that features the real-life Swedish squad. Fun, but forgettable viewing.