Swimming With Shaks

Bomb Rating: 

Two things seem unusual about this movie. The first is that director George Huang ever got it made.

Ostensibly, this is another one of those films in which someone has decided to take a baseball bat and beat you over the head until you realize that every day when you get up, the sun rises in the east. But you already knew that, right?

Well, I also already knew that climbing the ladder in Hollywood is like licking toilet bowls for a living. It's pretty obvious from the outset that when Guy (Frank Whaley) goes to work for big-time studio executive Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey), his life will turn into a swirling cesspool of fun. Before you can say "get me some coffee, you maggot," Guy has taken Buddy hostage in order to lead us on that long, winding road called "flashback" so we can see what's up Guy's keister.

Two things seem unusual about this movie. The first is that director George Huang ever got it made. Some studio executive probably got confused about the whole intent of the movie, green-lighted it by accident, then saw the finished product and refused to release it in the theaters. The second odd thing is that Kevin Spacey doesn't limp in this film, unlike in "Seven" and "The Usual Suspects." I must say, without the limp I felt very let down. It was kind of like watching Sylvester Stallone without his bulging pecs.

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