An eccentric loser pool man uncovers corrupt plots that plague the city he loves, Los Angeles. Chris Pine stars in this bohemian film which he also wrote and directed.
Poolman is an ode to Chinatown combined with the weirdness of The Big Lebowski. But sometimes odes are best left alone. This is a doozy of a film. Billed as a comedy, it’s more of an absurd and strange 90-minute delivery of bizarre content. The characters are too odd to be endearing, the plot and style stilted which leaves the audience utterly bored. Poolman is like when your favourite music artist releases a single of screams and noises for 18 minutes; it is such a big misfire.
We have to commend Chris Pine for his efforts. Creating anything is hard, especially a feature film, and he did all the heavy lifting and as an armchair critic, who can only dream of undertaking something this ambitious. But good god, this was a tough watch. Pine said he loved making Poolman and for that I am happy for him. I am, however, very sad that he now has to wear this film on his shoulders and the brutal criticism it conjures because his fingerprints are all over this.
Some people can pull these solo projects off successfully, but Poolman is a great case study for why films should be a group effort. Not to say this movie wasn’t, but it seems driven so much by Pine so he doesn’t have anywhere to hide or shift the blame on anyone else. Some of the best films have been made with a composite of a talented writer who then passes their script to a crafty director and/or producer. This is where the magic happens, when a second pair of eyes or a different approach will reshape a piece of coal into a diamond. A perfect example of this is the original Star Wars trilogy. Lucas’ idea was brilliant, but he needed help. In his first movie, he was buoyed by masterful editing largely due to his wife, Marcia Lucas. In arguably the best Star Wars film, Empire Strikes Back, Lucas handed the writing reins to Lawrence Kasdan and to direct, Irvin Kershner. Lucas still played a huge role in crafting the trilogy but knew that to make his films successful he had to compromise and allow other hands to craft it. Fast forward to Lucas’ prequel trilogy wherein Lucas oversaw every step of the films and was surrounded by yes men, resulting in Lucas’ film being panned for decades.
Is this movie worth a watch? Maybe? There are a few funny bits littered throughout Poolman. If you can watch it for free and have it on in the background then be my guest.
Grade: D+