I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, but after 2+ years of running this site, I had never seen the seminal assistant movie Swimming with Sharks. However, thanks to my brand new Netflix subscription, I finally watched the movie this morning. My initial thoughts (complete with spoilers, so if you haven’t watched it beware) are after the jump.
Despite the fact it’s been several years since I worked for the boss who was so terrible he inspired me to start this blog, there were parts of this movie that made me flash back so much that I almost had to turn it off. I actually had less of a problem watching the scenes where Guy is torturing his boss by throwing salt and lime juice on his wounds than I did watching scenes like the one where Buddy screams and throws things at his assistant. I put my hand over my eyes and watched those scenes through the slit between my fingers, as if I were watching a horror movie – and, to be honest, I was. I’m hoping the likelihood of someone breaking into my house, holding me hostage, and giving me a paper cut on my tongue is pretty minimal, and so despite the ickiness I could remove myself from those scenes. But having coffee thrown at you, or being told your thoughts and feelings don’t matter, and getting called names in front of the whole office? Oh yeah. I’ve been there, and I do not like watching it again.
The most painful part of this movie, actually, was seeing how realistically Guy went from being a bright-eyed assistant with dreams of ‘making it’ to a cold-hearted, violent, abusive asshole. I know that, because I run a website about assistants and the workplace in general, that I probably care more than the average person how an evil boss gets so evil. But Swimming with Sharks helped provide insight into how both Guy and Buddy ended up the way that they did, and it was fascinating. I may not have empathized or agreed with their choices, but I understood them.
The one thing about the film I hated the most was the treatment of Michelle. As the one female character in the movie, she already had a lot to put up with. Her inclusion pointed out how sexist Hollywood was – and is – but, unfortunately, she was never given much chance to rise above stereotype. She started out cool and kind of ballsy and served an important purpose by dating Guy and trying to help him navigate the scary world of assisting without losing his soul in the process. Unfortunately, by the end of the film she has completely lost her luster. It’s revealed that, although she’s previously been presented as strong and competent, she slept her way to where she is. This reveal completely negates all of her work, especially since the reveal comes in the context of her offering to sleep with Buddy in order to help Guy’s career. Then, in the fim’s final scene, it turns out that instead of killing Buddy, Guy killed Michelle and blamed Buddy’s imprisonment/torture on her. That is how Michelle will be remembered in Hollywood – not for her films or her hard work, but for being a ‘crazy bitch’ who held a man hostage and was eventually killed. It’s her story – not that of the beleaguered assistant or the asshole boss with a tragic past – that hurt me the most. It’s her story that troubles me, days later, as I write this review. She’s the only real victim in the movie, the person who tried to save the day who becomes simply a means to an end.
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