Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury

I watched this movie at a friend's tonight and I can unequivocally say that his is one of the most satirical movies...ever! It is smart (a number of self-referential levels, as well as allusions to other, commercially "good" (i.e. "popular") movies and TV shows: Rambo, Airwolf and the The Deer Hunter comes to mind. "American ideology" is deconstructed and re-imagined as (alter)native; the nativity of a clown.

But it's also so stupidly bad at the same time, you would sometimes forget you're watching a satire.

It's either brilliant or the worst movie ever.

I think it's both: watch it!!!

I'm not sure what got me to give "Poolboy" a chance. Maybe it was because I had a free rental, or that it had the great Danny Trejo in it. Deep down, I suspected it might be a lazy effort, but I was wrong. Although the movie is very low budget, the effort by the cast and crew is VERY enthusiastic. Gags are executed one after the other at such a rapid pace that at times it makes the legendary Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker comedy look like slowpokes. And while the movie had a poverty row budget, it actually manages to take advantage of it to execute some pretty funny gags.

The movie definitely has some funny moments. However, there are plenty of gags that also fall flat. Many of the gags are the kind you would associate with teenage boys who get their hands on a camcorder and try to make a comedy. While that kind of thing can be funny in small doses, they stretch it out for ninety minutes, which is long past the breaking point. Also, while the movie is refreshingly politically incorrect, there are enough slams against Mexicans that might make some viewers uncomfortable.

Still, the movie has its moments. And I can say with confidence that I think there are a lot of people out there who would find this movie funnier than I did. In fact, I would not be surprised if in several years the movie manages to build a substantial cult following.

What first got me to watch this film was Kevin Sorbo. I've been a fan since his Andromeda days and try to check out as many as of films as possible. Sure, mostly they are not high quality, but they still manage to be entertaining. And "Poolboy" is no exception.

It's difficult to sum up this film. It's a movie about a movie with inter-cuts from the director/producer and his assistant (or whatever she is). It is a self-aware satire bordering on parody with intentional stereotypes and is definitely not for those easily offended. It is filled with terrible one-liners and adolescent jokes, gratuitous nudity from both men and women and it takes itself so seriously as if it was competing for an Academy Award. But it does all that on purpose and it works.

This film is easily the best worst film of the year. Do not hesitate and grab a copy (plus a few friends and a six-pack). You'll have a bloody good time.

i laughed & laffed at this screwball comedy! how anyone can be offended by this nutty movie is beyond me.

right from the start you know this is a budget movie with actors doing their thing in front of the camera and doing it in a 'carefree' attitude. that's what makes this film so brilliant and just fun to watch. the actors are just doing what they choose without concern with 'acting'!!!

Saint James St. James (Saint James Street James) is the narrator that keeps the goofy stuff in motion and takes over the action in the end. the ricocheting bullet is worth the whole hour and a half of laffs.

rent it and get happy with laughter!

"Poolboy" is not a well made movie. It is not well acted, well written, nor well directed. You could call it crap and few could argue. And yet, underneath all that crap there is a bizarre kind of brilliance at work here. "Poolboy" is not a good movie, but I loved it.

The plot, what little there is, concerns a Vietnam vet coming home to find his wife and child murdered by an evil pool boy and LA over run by Mexicans (it's as racist as it sounds, but I'll get to that later). Overcome with grief, the Vet goes on a one man rampage against the evil Mexican pool boy cartel.

The story is utterly ridiculous and even less coherent than it sounds since half the film is made up of fake 'making-of' footage. It all congeals into a sloppy mess of rapid-fire (often vulgar) sight gags. Those easily offended by nudity, violence, blood, gore, and nearly non- stop racism need not apply. Those with a mind for it will find a frequently hilarious film that hearkens back to the glory days of old-school Troma movies (think "Toxic Avenger" or "Troma's War").

I said the film was not well acted before, but that is only half true. The actors act poorly, but they are clearly supposed to be acting poorly. The kind of over-dramatic, over-acted nonsense that is intended to compliment the ridiculous story. In that regard, they actually act pretty well. I'm a long time fan of Kevin Sorbo, but I surprised to see just how well he handled absurdist comedy. Danny Trejo also puts in an extremely funny performance as a kind of anti-thesis to his character from "Machete". The rest of the film is loaded with actors who deserve credit for going along with the ludicrous nature of the film.

The dialogue and filming are much the same as the plot and acting; they are poorly executed, but that is the point. The dialogue is often (though not always) hilarious and the direction has a rushed, film student quality to it that would seem amateurish if it wasn't clearly the intended look for the movie.

As much I liked the film, not everything worked for me. The biggest problem is that with many films of it's type, they rely on quantity over quality for the gags. About half the jokes fall flat, but at least the other half hit the mark. Also, the film is EXCEEDINGLY vulgar. Hardly 30 seconds can go by with some form of cursing, bloodshed, or racist material being shown. I'm not offended by explicit content, but after a while I wanted the movie start being more clever and stop being graphic just for the sake of being graphic.

All things considered, I thought "Poolboy" was a hilarious film, but definitely not one for most people; consider watching it with friends and a six-pack for maximum effect.