Swimf@n

After the daffy Australian road movie Siam Sunset, actor turned director Polson establishes his US credentials with this self-consciously trashy high school variation on Fatal Attraction. Bradford is Ben, a school swimmer hoping for a scholarship, and steadily going steady with nice but dull Amy (Appleby). Until, that is, he finds himself in the deep end with sexually assertive new arrival Madison (Christensen), and his scruples melt right away. Predictably, he plays it cool afterwards and her vicious retribution escalates into Glenn Close psycho mode. To some extent, the unfolding mayhem engages with the double-edged notion of the 'bad girl' as both fantasy figure and worst nightmare, but only on the way to absurd overkill. Christensen plays it to the hilt all right, but she has little choice since the script doesn't really bother with niceties like motivation. With guffaws in store as open-mouthed Bradford squares up to Christensen's dark past, this is almost a guilty pleasure. But only the very easily pleased will be able to see past its limitations.