Swimming with Sharks
1994 · Movie · R · 93 min · ★ 6.6 · 71% critics
A young Hollywood assistant lands a dream job, only to find his powerful boss is cruel, manipulative, and impossible to please. As the daily humiliation piles up and his personal life unravels, he’s pushed toward a dangerous breaking point in a world where ambition and abuse often go hand in hand.
Also known as The Boss · Buddy Factor
Where to watch
Watch free on Tubi — also streaming on MovieSphere+.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 1994
- Release date
- 1994-09-10
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 71/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.6/10 (336 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a dark, biting Hollywood workplace satire with escalating tension and nasty humor; Not for you if you dislike verbal abuse, bleak moods, or non-linear storytelling like in A Shock to the System.
Pros: sharp, quotable satire; tense workplace power games; standout villain performance | Cons: uneven tone shifts; low-budget look; ending feels forced
Themes
- career
- kidnapping
- manipulation
- dark comedy
- satire
- punishment
- revenge
- hollywood
- los angeles, california
- humiliation
- disgruntled worker
- verbal abuse
- +3 more
Cast & crew
Kevin Spacey
as Buddy Ackerman
Frank Whaley
as Guy
Michelle Forbes
as Dawn Lockard
Benicio del Toro
as Rex
T.E. Russell
as Foster Kane
Roy Dotrice
as Cyrus Miles
Matthew Flint
as Manny
Patrick Fischler
as Moe
Jerry Levine
as Jack
Directed by George Huang