Poolhall Junkies

Poolhall Junkies exhibits a breathtaking spectacle of pool brilliance. It leaves nothing out - Jump shots, masse shots and superbly illustrated draw and bank shots.

First and foremost, it is a sports film, though fundamentally incorporates certain genres like romance and action so as to not alienate the movie going audience. However, unlike the hustler - which many perceived was a love story with a Pool backdrop, and the Color of Money - which put more emphasis on money and gambling than on the sport of pool itself, Poolhall Junkies displays Pool in all its unadulterated beauty.

It failed to be a smash hit, I dare say, as there were no huge names in the film unlike the above mentioned two which had Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. Nevertheless the casting is excellent. Mars Callahan does a great job playing Johnny - the talented and cocky hustler with an inherent deep regret of not being a pro, and Rick Shroder plays the great steely eyed and fierce opponent, with, lamentably, a not so terrifying name, Brad. Furthermore Christopher Walken adds tremendous spice to the film as Johnny's stakehorse, with an exultant presence, inspirational philosophies and a few wickedly innovative pool shots to boot.

Some bits seem derivative from the Hustler and/or the Color of Money, especially the clichéd hustle dialogue, but they work well, it's part of what makes a hustling film, and adds to its comedic value! I would rate this 8 out of 10, overall, but if a definitive Pool film is what you want, look no further than this.

The film Poolhall Junkies centers on pool shark Johnny (Mars Callahan), who breaks free from Joe (Chazz Palminteri), his mentor and one of the dirtiest hustlers around. He makes the break upon finding out that Joe hid his being invited to shoot with the pros from him, and from here things become violent and Joe breaks Johnny's hand. Joe uses pool shark Brad (Rick Schroder) to bring Johnny's younger brother Danny (Michael Rosenbaum) into the picture, as he hustles Danny and proceeds to beat him up and to threaten his life for the money he owes him. In the chaos, Danny tries to knock off a pawnshop and is arrested and imprisoned. It is then up to Johnny to play Brad for the cash to get his brother out of jail.

Director Mars Callahan successfully made this a film about achieving greatness. Throughout the film, we know Johnny has possibly missed his chance to be great. A chance many get once in a lifetime. But throughout the film, we see that Johnny is a great person, sticks to his morals (although they are a bit hazy), is a true friend, and always has some goodness at heart. At one point, Johnny swears off of the game, but returns when the stakes involve getting his girlfriend Tara (Alison Eastwood) her dream job in the law firm she happens to be interning at. In doing this, he meets and befriends her Uncle Mike (Christopher Walken), who backs him and gives him the money he needs to possibly win his final game.

The pivotal choice in music for this film is very original. It went very well with the key moments it was placed in. At one point in the final pool game, the two competitors pass by one another, and right at that point there is a howl in the music that has been playing throughout the game. This makes the meeting that much more exciting. This film was excellently pieced together, and probably both under credited and under viewed.

There isn't really much to say about this film. It has the basic formula, average script, average acting and yet I can't help but enjoy it. Considering it's style and snappy dialogue, it is quite obviously a Swingers inspired project and although not as successful, it still makes for some great viewing.

The cast is excellent. Walken is a standout. He brings so much to this movie, quite frankly I can't see it working without him. And Mars Callahan... A solid actor; and I get this guy, I get what he's doing and I can only hope to see him growing creatively through more of his work in future. But I am not holding my breath, writing and direction and quite clearly not his strengths and I fear that he will never top this film.

This is one of those movies that will no doubt spawn a cult following, especially among the pool hustlers out there. Look out for the great Trees Lounge reference too, a nice touch.

I don't know what is going on with the release of this film, but I bought it on (region 0) DVD at K-mart in Australia, despite the fact it hasn't hit cinemas yet. Essential viewing for any pool fanatic. 8/10.

This movie is a straight-up combination of Rounders, Diner, and The Color of Money. It is hard to watch for a single minute without thinking in the back of your head that you've seen the same exact thing somewhere else before. The acting leans towards wooden (except for the typically excellent Christopher Walken) and the script thinks it's more clever than it really is (example, the gag "hustle" about the RV salesman's shoes).

As a pool player, it's fun to see pool on film. Two caveats though. First, most of the pool footage is so zoomed-in that the shots are obviously being done by someone else in a different location, and it's jarring and distracting. Of course the actors can't all be expert pool players but it would be nice to see some of the clothing and scenery that you would expect, and not just balls on tables. Second, the characters are almost always playing 9-ball but also almost always trying to pocket all the balls, which is unrealistic. This may be a concession that a general audience will not know the rules of 9-ball but to anyone who does, it makes the pool scenes surreal.

Overall though I appreciate movies about pool and this movie is a solid effort, particularly at its relatively low production cost of $4M, so, a strong 7/10.

I've personally been waiting to see Poolhall Junkies since I saw Alison Eastwood on the Craig Kilborn show plugging it. I originally wanted to see it because two of my favorite actors were in it(Chazz Palmenteri, and the Great Christopher Walken). Though after the first twenty minutes of the movie I knew those two would be over shadowed by writer/director/actor Mars Callahan.

Callahan stole the show with his natural charisma and attitude. He's got great screen presence and watching him actually kind of reminded me of Christopher Walken except a bit younger and a lot less intense. This movie had a great plot nothing overly original but with the tight script it came off without a hitch. Poolhall Junkies is definetly a must see. Now that the wait is over I can see that it was well worth it.

10 out of 10