Eric Scott (Rob Brydon) is suffering a mid-life crisis. Unfulfilled at work and convinced his wife is having an affair, he only seems happy swimming lengths in his local pool. It is there that he meets a group of men with similar issues who have formed a synchronized swimming team. They persuade him to join them ahead of an upcoming competition.
This is a British comedy that firmly sticks to The Full Monty template. Whilst it has some funny moments and likeable characters it lacks the emotional depth and the political undercurrent that made The Full Monty so great. The cast is made of reliable character actors such as Jim Carter, Rupert Graves, and Adeel Akhtar. Apart from Brydon, Daniel Mays made the biggest impression as a man struggling with past demons.
The competition element of the film felt tired to me and there were other annoyingly overused tropes. I’m fed up with seeing shots of the main characters walking in slow motion to a music track, and if I see another London based flick where a character lives on a houseboat I won’t be responsible for my actions!
In the end, it is the quality of the cast and the chemistry between the team members that ensures that Swimming with Men is watchable.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10