Poolman

Desperately screaming 'I love and understand Los Angeles', dire stylized dramedy "Poolman" tries laying a veneer of "The Big Lebowski" (without its natural charm) over a twisty plot based on "Chinatown" (that it homages). Titular pool-cleaner Chris Pine (a retro hippie with OCD - sigh) is on a social activism drive (supported by Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Jason Leigh, DeWanda Wise & John Ortiz) against city councillor Stephen Tobolowsky... which pulls him into that shady convoluted plot which also involves the likes of Clancy Brown & Ray Wise. Pine's a fine actor, but his debut as director / co-writer (with fellow debutant Ian Gotler) sucks. Drain it away.

I'm not sure who this movie is for. The premise is kind of Noir film + Big Lebowski, and the main character is surely peculiar, as are his friends, but unlike the cult classic, nothing they say feels funny nor special; it's like being stuck in a room with strangers who are not very bright, who have smoked something, and are trying to make a conversation. It's tiring. It doesn't help that everything feels very slow and sleepy, and the plot is so obvious that even a child would figure it out, while eyes rolling. Maybe that was the point, to play with Noir genre expectations. But every film, regardless of genre, should have some element of surprise, meaning, and depth; otherwise, what's the point of making the film and what's the point of watching? I can't see those here. Maybe it's about boredom.

Poolman is a convoluted mess. I really like Chris Pine as an actor, he's had some films and delivered decent performances. However, he should stick to acting and not direct. I could not make any sense of what unfolded in this film. It was trying to go for a Big Lebowski sort of vibe but it was terribly done. The humour is just not there. The plot is quite over the top and unrealistic. It has such bad writing and really bizarre scenes featuring a lizard, weird friendships that make no sense, a really poor sense of story and flow that leaves the viewer beyond confused.

How did this get the green light?

By day, Darren Barrenman (Chris Pine) is a pool man. With his circle of friends, he is constantly presenting miniscule issues to the city council and filming his never-finished documentary. He is the thorn in the side of council president Stephen Toronkowski (Stephen Tobolowsky). Out of the blue, the mysterious June (DeWanda Wise) recruits him to take down Toronkowski for unknown corruption. Susan Kerkovich (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is his girlfriend. Jack Denisoff (Danny DeVito) is his documentary director. Diane Esplinade (Annette Bening) is his therapist. Wayne (John Ortiz) is his minion.

The story may be riffing off of Chinatown, but the movie is very much looking to imitate The Big Lebowski. Chris Pine is writing and directing. As the lead actor, he is very much doing the Dude. I like his attempt. He's not holding back. He has surrounded himself with plenty of great actors. The problem boils down to the script and filmmaking. In those respects, Pine is no Coen brothers. It's not there in the details and I want changes to the last act.

Directorial debut and a mess, i dont think Chris Pine can be a very successful director, he is not a director material to be honest and i can see that here clearly, this was sad to watch, the incredible award winning cast is just sad to look, Pine needs to continue his action carrer and stop with this nonsense, he is not Bradley Cooper, he is not a good filmmaking, i hope he can understand that and continue to work in his amazing acting skills, Dungeons and dragons last year was amazing and funny, that's the things Pine needs to be doing and not this waste of cast and locations, its just a mess.