Think of Jane Fonda doing a back flip off the dock in " On Golden Pond." I saw the movie in the theatre and the audience erupted into cheers when she succeeded.
Neither Eric nor any of the other guys in "Swimming With Men" have character arcs of the same urgency and power.Īs the men practice their routines, challenges are set up-Tom's flip off someone else's shoulders, for example-that then don't pay off in the narrative. Addy makes the self-loathing so real that when he whips off his chaps in the final scene, and his wife in the audience screams with joy and lust for him, we get the catharsis of what this man is really doing, what it is he is in the process of reclaiming.
If he's having a midlife crisis, "Swimming With Men" merely sketches it in.Įric's journey lacks the emotional heft of, say, Dave's journey in "The Full Monty", the man (played by Mark Addy) who cringes away from having sex with his wife because his sense of self has been so shattered by lack of work. But the film doesn't invest in them emotionally, and it's difficult to invest in Eric, whose behavior with his wife and son is selfish and unfair. The ensemble work among the group of actors in "Swimming With Men" is very strong, with humorous asides, joshing, and banter that feels spontaneous (they are all very funny actors). The film had so much to say about men, about the economic crisis in an entire class caused by the closing of steel mills in England, and it said all this with power and humor, never forgetting the absurdity of the entire enterprise. Each character was three-dimensionally drawn with fully-established conflicts (inner and outer), but what made the film really work was its commentary on the emasculating effect of unemployment and financial difficulties, and the super-charge of confidence that stripping gave these men. Much of this will call to mind " The Full Monty," but the comparison is not kind to "Swimming With Men." "The Full Monty" had it all. This is perfect for Eric, who has been feeling unhappy, and is now living in a hotel, away from his powerful wife who's only interested in politics. The men go out for beers and hang out, but very little personal information is shared. There's silver-fox Luke ( Rupert Graves), there's young tough Tom ( Thomas Turgoose), there's gay Kurt ( Adeel Akhtar), there's widower Ted ( Jim Carter), construction worker Colin ( Daniel Mays) and two other members who never speak, one of whom is nicknamed "Silent Bob." When Eric joins the group, he is given some rules, the first one being "We don't talk about Swim Club." There's also a rule about leaving your personal life at the door. They are all ages and come from all walks of life. The men on the team in "Swimming With Men" are not, to put it mildly, athletic. (The journey of the Swedish team was featured in a documentary, "Men Who Swim.") Men's synchronized swimming isn't really an official "thing," but there are teams and competitions, and the Art Swim Gents ended up competing in the world championships. If you choose not to, it is at my expense."Swimming With Men" is inspired by a true-life story of a group of Swedish men who-feeling lost and lonely as they reached middle age-formed a men's synchronized swimming team called Stockholm Art Swim Gents. It is your civil duty to educate yourself. If you are reading this, this post is for you! Gay or straight, swimmer or not. I am asking, begging for some sort of action. There are queer voices everywhere and all you have to do is listen. I want something to change, because I can’t take it anymore. I am a talented, successful, educated, proud, gay man: I am a threat to the culture that holds sports teams together. Homophobia is systematic, intelligently and masterfully designed to keep me silent and to push me out. “We take pride in the inclusivity and supportiveness that exists on both our men’s and women’s teams, but we will continue to strive, as always, to improve those aspects of our culture.”ĭeVine’s post elaborated on his claim: “This is a pattern. “Abe wasn’t invited back to train with us this fall, as a postgraduate, for reasons entirely unrelated to his sexuality,” they stated. Stanford women’s swimming and diving coach Greg Meehan. (Stanford Athletics)Ĭoaches for the school’s men’s and women’s programs, Greg Meehan and Dan Schemmel, denied DeVine’s assertions in a joint statement.