Swimming with Men

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}{{Infobox film

| name = Swimming with Men

| image = Swimming with Men poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Oliver Parker

| producer = {{plainlist|

Stewart Le Marechal
Anna Mohr-Pietsch
Maggie Monteith

}}

| screenplay = Aschlin Ditta

| based_on = Allt flyter

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Charlie Mole

| cinematography = David Raedeker

| editing = Liana Del Giudice

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Met Film Production
Dignity Film Finance
Shoebox Films
Amp Film
Kerris Films
Umedia

}}

| distributor = Vertigo Releasing{{cite web|title=Swimming with Men (UK)|work=Box Office Mojo|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2339013889/weekend/}}

| released = {{Film date|df=y|2018|7|6|United Kingdom}}

| runtime = 96 minutes

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Swimming with Men is a 2018 British sports comedy-drama film starring Rob Brydon, Jane Horrocks, Rupert Graves, Daniel Mays, Thomas Turgoose, Jim Carter, Adeel Akhtar and Charlotte Riley. It was directed by Oliver Parker.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/swimming-with-men-review-isn-t-as-funny-as-we-want-it-to-be-a8430501.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/swimming-with-men-review-isn-t-as-funny-as-we-want-it-to-be-a8430501.html |archive-date=2022-05-26 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Swimming With Men review: Isn't as funny as we want it to be|website=The Independent|date=4 July 2018}}

Screenwriter Aschlin Ditta based the script on the 2010 Swedish documentary Men Who Swim.{{cite news |last=Hans |first=Simran |date=8 July 2018 |title=Swimming With Men review – Rob Brydon takes the plunge |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/08/swimming-with-men-review-rob-brydon-review}}

Plot

When accountant Eric seeks to win back his wife Heather, he stumbles upon a solution in the form of a male synchronised swimming team: Men Who Swim. Joining his local team, Eric finds brotherhood in this crew as they train for the World Championships in Milan.

Cast

Rob Brydon as Eric Scott
Jane Horrocks as Heather Scott
Rupert Graves as Luke
Daniel Mays as Colin
Adeel Akhtar as Kurt
Thomas Turgoose as Tom
Jim Carter as Ted
Charlotte Riley as Susan
Nathaniel Parker as Lewis

Production

The scenes from the championship competition were filmed at the 25 x 50 metre pool in Basildon Sporting Village.

Release

The film closed the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 1 July 2018. It went on general release in the UK on 4 July.{{cite web|url=https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/5623/news-release-date-confirmed-swimming-men-starring-rob-brydon|title=News: Release Date Confirmed For Swimming With Men Starring Rob Brydon|date=2 May 2018|website=Beyond The Joke}}

Reception

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|54|5.2|46|Swimming with Men touches on thought-provoking themes surrounding modern masculinity, but ultimately never manages to do much more than tread water.}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/swimming_with_men|title=Swimming With Men|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date=5 August 2023}} {{Metacritic film prose|44|11}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/swimming-with-men|title=Swimming with Men|website=Metacritic|access-date=5 August 2023}}

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 3/5 stars.{{cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |date=5 July 2018 |title=Swimming With Men review – Rob Brydon dives in at the deep end |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/05/swimming-with-men-review-rob-brydon-jane-horrocks}} Empire gave it two stars and compared it unfavorably to The Full Monty.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/swimming-men/review/ |last=Beardsworth |first=Liz |date=5 July 2018 |title=Swimming with Men review |magazine=Empire}}