Swimming With Men ???

IF you’re sitting there thinking “it’s about time we got a comedy about an amateur all-male synchronized swimming team”, then the film which closed out this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival will be right up your end of the pool.

Rob Brydon leads the amiable, occasionally quite witty Brit comedy as Eric, a middle-aged accountant who has been doing the same job for longer than he cares to remember, and whose marriage to newly elected local councillor Heather (Jane Horrocks) is starting to hit the rocks.

His way of escaping the mundane is to swim at the local pool after work. One evening he notices a group of men practising synchronised swimming together. After making a comment about how having an even number of people would help their technique, he is invited to join them, and he begins to find new meaning in a life that had just begun to enter crisis mode.

From there, things inevitably paddle towards the idea of a world championship where they’ll be up against far more skilled competitors from other countries – and believe it or not, it’s a real thing. So begins the rigorous, mishap-laden training regime in the weeks leading up to the competition, led by their no-nonsense coach Susan (Charlotte Riley).

It pitches itself as a kind of Full Monty with trunks but, alas, it’s not on the same level as that 90s classic. To be fair, what is? However, with a degree of unexpected visual inventiveness, director Oliver Parker (St Trinian’s, Johnny English Reborn) strikes an enjoyable balance of affable camaraderie and easy-going, self-aware and downright silly humour, with an underpinning of glass-half-full optimism in the face of life getting you down.

It benefits hugely from an endearingly clownish cast – including the likes of Adeel Akhtar, Jim Carter, Rupert Graves and Daniel Mays – all of whom have nice chemistry together. Their characterisation manages to rise above the shallow end and they make for a winning mix of underdog personalities who we can easily root for.

There are admirable messages nestled snugly in there about people still mattering as they hit middle age, and how you can do things to improve your sense of happiness. Brydon gets to showcase his ability to give a quieter and more affecting performance than we’re used to, while also leaving no doubt of his natural likeability as his character comes out of his shell when he begins to feel truly like part of the group.

Parts of the film work better than others; a repeated gag about Thomas Turgoose’s light-fingered jokester being chased by the police feels like a few steps too many into Benny Hill farce territory. And the plot doesn’t end up anywhere you’re not expecting when it comes to the competition itself or Eric trying to mend his fracturing marriage. But it’s very easy to get along with, boasting a big heart that it wears proudly – like a particularly bright and cheery inflatable armband.