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Swimming with Sharks (1994)

post #1 of 17
1/16/10 at 4:44pm
Thread Starter 
I'd never heard of this one till recently. Then I saw a trailer for the 20th aniversary DVD release, and apparently it's some kind of cult classic.

So, NETFLIX was kind enough to deliver me a copy and I intend to view it tonight.

I'd be curious to hear thoughts and reactions from the CHUD-munity(c). Is this really some hidden classic? Or was that trailer just a studio's attempt to repackage their old Kevin Spacey movie?


For the record, the cast seems amazing. I love Frank Whaley, he was delightful in the Doors as Bobby Kreiger and as Fake Oswald in JFK. Plus, he killed Jimmy Hoffa. Michelle Forbes is an fantastic actress who got stuck in television and never got the film career she deserved. And Spacey is Spacey, what else needs to be said?

I am a bit worried this will come off like watered down Entourage though. It's hard for me to imagine anyone other than Jeremy Piven in the role of super agent these days.

EDIT: It's possible the trailer was actually for an aniversary other than the 20th
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post #2 of 17
1/16/10 at 4:59pm
My math must be off, or they are really touting a 20th anniversary DVD for a movie that came out 16 years ago?

Sharks is nothing like Entourage.
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post #3 of 17
1/16/10 at 5:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rando View Post
My math must be off, or they are really touting a 20th anniversary DVD for a movie that came out 16 years ago?

Sharks is nothing like Entourage.
Maybe it was a 15th Anniversary DVD? Or a 10th? I don't really remember. A trailer for the DVD was on something I got from NETFLIX recently

EDIT: I added an edit to my first post to reflect the uncertainty about the anniversary
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post #4 of 17
1/16/10 at 5:04pm
Swimming With Sharks is a good flick. A little dated in that it's very "early 90's" looking but it's still great on it's own merits. Not really great enough to tear a hole in the time/space continuum like PK hints at but whatever.
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post #5 of 17
1/16/10 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timothy Q View Post
Swimming With Sharks is a good flick. A little dated in that it's very "early 90's" looking but it's still great on it's own merits. Not really great enough to tear a hole in the time/space continuum like PK hints at but whatever.
Ok well cool, should be interesting then. Frank Whaley and Michelle Forbes... two people who never gained the stardom they so richly deserved. It will be interesting to see them in a film together!
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post #6 of 17
1/16/10 at 5:08pm
I've always liked Frank Whaley. Even in that subpar UPN Twilight Zone episode! Whatever happened to this guy?
He had such...career opportunities.
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post #7 of 17
1/16/10 at 5:13pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by soylentgreen View Post
I've always liked Frank Whaley. Even in that subpar UPN Twilight Zone episode! Whatever happened to this guy?
He had such...career opportunities.
He is one of the best parts of JFK. So evil!
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post #8 of 17
1/16/10 at 5:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by soylentgreen View Post
I've always liked Frank Whaley. Even in that subpar UPN Twilight Zone episode! Whatever happened to this guy?
He had such...career opportunities.
Look at the big brain on Brett!

Yeah, Whaley had a promising career. I met him once. He was really insecure and shy. I suppose if you aren't willing to market yourself, no one else will. It probably didn't help that his best friend - Ethan Hawk - was getting more and more famous as he was left behind.
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post #9 of 17
1/16/10 at 5:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
Look at the big brain on Brett!

Yeah, Whaley had a promising career. I met him once. He was really insecure and shy. I suppose if you aren't willing to market yourself, no one else will. It probably didn't help that his best friend - Ethan Hawk - was getting more and more famous as he was left behind.
Man, Ethan Hawk is also so underrated. I love him. I even once helped him park. I had no idea he and Whaley were friends.

Given the number of forgettable leading men who rose to fame in the 90s, it's weird these two deserving stars never got much box office traction
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post #10 of 17
1/17/10 at 3:13pm
Whaley is soooooooo creepy in Vacancy. Especially when he's trying to make an inpromptu snuff film while trying to kill Kate Beckinsale.

Whaley's pretty creepy in Sharks, too. It's definitely the Kevin Spacey show though. He makes his character vile, but also sells some sympathy as well.

I remember the ending being kind of a gut punch. So brace yourself for that.
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post #11 of 17
1/17/10 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walker View Post
Whaley is soooooooo creepy in Vacancy. Especially when he's trying to make an inpromptu snuff film while trying to kill Kate Beckinsale.

Whaley's pretty creepy in Sharks, too. It's definitely the Kevin Spacey show though. He makes his character vile, but also sells some sympathy as well.

I remember the ending being kind of a gut punch. So brace yourself for that.
I watched it. I really enjoyed it, and yes, Kevin Spacey sort of stole the show. And yes, it really was pretty dissimilar to ENTOURAGE, lol. Whaley was legitimately creepy, and the ending was awful. I can't believe they SPOILERS killed Michelle Forbes and got away with it. I am a little confused though, since she narated the opening of the movie, does that mean that she was doing it from beyond the grave?
 END SPOILERS.

Spacey really was alot of fun though, and it was a worthwhile viewing experience.

Plus, like someone else already said, it's a bit of an early 90s time capsule. All the car phone bill talk, and the giant cell phones, and the what have you. Plus, Michelle Forbes' film concept "Real Life" was clearly supposed to be about "Reality Bites".
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post #12 of 17
1/17/10 at 9:52pm
Why start a new thread?
http://www.chud.com/forum/showthread.php?p=200039
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post #13 of 17
1/18/10 at 6:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by billylove View Post
My bad. It looks like what I did was do a title search for the word "Sharks", only I instinctively spell it "Sharkes" for some reason, which obviously returned no results when I forgot to correct myself.

I appreciate you pointing it out Billy Love, and hope this thread does not confuse people too much
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post #14 of 17
1/19/10 at 3:09am
I have worked with someone who was there for a lot of the true stuff this is based on. They said it was much worse and they took stuff out that really happened which people didn't believe.

And yes, there really are people like that in this business. Wonder if Joel Silver maybe needs to watch this again to recapture some of "the old magic."
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post #15 of 17
1/20/10 at 1:10am
One of the rumors floating around is that Spacey's character is based on Joel Silver and Whaley's was based on this guy named Alan Schechter, who killed himself in August 2005.

http://www.cleveland.com/fadeout/ind...ore/part1.html

http://www.cleveland.com/fadeout/ind...ore/part2.html
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post #16 of 17
7/17/11 at 10:54pm

After seeing the previews for Horrible Bosses and Kevin Spacey's role in it I recalled Swimming with Sharks and decided to watch on Netflix. I vaguely remember watching it waaaaay back in the late 90s on cable. Seeing it again this weekened the film holds up nicely. Spacey steals the show; especially like his story about his dead wife and what happened to her. Overall, very good flick and doesn't feel dated at all.

 

My only problem with the film is the ending. Whaley kills Forbes and we're meant to believe that he's the hero for saving his boss. Sounds plausible expect when you consider the very next scene: Whaley, it appears is given Spacey's job, but Specey himself still works there and Whaley is still his assistant. Why didn't he have Guy arrested for torture and attempted murder. Didn't realy get all that. 

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post #17 of 17
7/18/11 at 6:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by History Buff View Post

After seeing the previews for Horrible Bosses and Kevin Spacey's role in it I recalled Swimming with Sharks and decided to watch on Netflix. I vaguely remember watching it waaaaay back in the late 90s on cable. Seeing it again this weekened the film holds up nicely. Spacey steals the show; especially like his story about his dead wife and what happened to her. Overall, very good flick and doesn't feel dated at all.

 

My only problem with the film is the ending. Whaley kills Forbes and we're meant to believe that he's the hero for saving his boss. Sounds plausible expect when you consider the very next scene: Whaley, it appears is given Spacey's job, but Specey himself still works there and Whaley is still his assistant. Why didn't he have Guy arrested for torture and attempted murder. Didn't realy get all that. 



Trust me, Buddy Auckerman ain't forgetting those events. He's holding them over Guy as a sort of albatross in the event Buddy needs a above and beyond favor. Why ruin a good thing?

 

I'm sure this sort of behavior isn't unture in Hollywood, given the many real life murder stories I already hear about in it's history.

 

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