Pool Party

As a low budget film, sans the luxury of an A thru D list name attached, this movie looks and sounds great. The writing probably gets a little zany for some tastes but it is fun and enjoyable. The protagonist is likable and charming, and even delivers a couple of late 80's Bill Murray moments. There are a few moments when you think you know what the joke is going to be and they go in a different surprising direction. There is nudity, so this isn't for kids, but if you are the right demographic for a National Lampoon film then this is fair game. So if you want a party movie and not have to think too much, and to get some laughs along the way - check out Pool Party!

7 stars.

and i've seen some pretty bad movies. The shameless nudity, the ridiculous homophobic jokes, and the plot are just some of the bad things about this movie.

Why did anyone actually give people the opportunity and money to make this? What's sad is thatI wasted my time on it, and I only did so because a friend of mine from high school is one of the extras. Between the sound problems, the bad writing, the really bad direction and cinematography and the even worse acting, this is easily the single most awful movie I've ever seen.

I'm ashamed someone was given money to make it and that people's time were wasted filming it. I'd given it 0 stars if it were an option. What a colossal waste of our nation's resources. They should all be ashamed of themselves. What a mess.

I love bad movies. I've seen The Room several times, I've seen Birdemic at least twice. And I like sleazy movies. I like cheap stuff. I picked this on Netflix since I had been watching a string of 80s teen sex romps.

There are a few positive traits to this movie. It's generally well lit. The sound is clear. The editing is competent, in that I don't feel confused about what I'm being shown.

But all of those positive traits come with caveats. The lighting is fine - but many indoor scenes, which have lower light, somehow make the picture look a bit more blocky. The sound is mostly fine, except for a few sequences, where the sound takes on a hollow effect. I think those were recorded on-set with a camera mike, possibly. Then the editing was also strange. There are minor continuity errors between shots, like a person's arm being raised, then in the next shot, it's down. It isn't horrible, but it's distracting.

And there isn't a message to this movie that comes across preachy or even vaguely offensive to any sensibilities. But the movie is so painfully unfunny that it made me feel mildly ill.

I am not joking about this.

I almost cracked a smile once, as Buck is calling out, trying to find his "towlie." But that was it.

This movie is so packed with "wacky" that there's nothing else to it. Everything is a joke, but it's not a funny joke.

I look for the things that are well done in cheap movies. In this case, they barely competently made a movie that is dull and a bit annoying. This is as low as you can go without getting entertaining for camp value.

One addendum is that I understand exactly where these people are coming from. I loved the same movies that they pay tribute to. The problem is that the movie would be impressive if it were written by a couple guys right out of high school.

Netflix recommended this movie to me. (That should tell you what kind of movies I watch.) And I actually enjoyed it. No it wasn't high budget, but I thought it was funny. What can I say, boobies and crude humor make me laugh. As you may have guessed, I watch a lot of these kinds of films, and I mean A LOT of these kinds of films, and this is pretty much the rank and file of the genre. Plus, I thought it was sick that the puppet master dude from Heroes was in it. (I met him at comic con and he was the coolest.) I get the feeling that the other reviewers are quite a bit older than me and aren't really the kinds of guys that would normally watch this type of film. If you enjoy immature National Lampoon types of movies, then I recommend this movie.

Anyone that truly hates this movie clearly has no knowledge of the tumultuous socio-economic climate of mid-nineteenth century Prussia. This thing has layers! The way they skewer the constitutional monarchy is downright hysterical.

So maybe Pool Party isn't Shakespeare. Heck, it's not even a slickly produced, big Hollywood comedy... and it never asks the audience to think otherwise. What it happens to be is a low- budget, chuckle-inducing flick made by a group of relative newcomers who had the tenacity and drive to make a movie. It's not going to change your life, but it will make you snicker. Add a moderately priced bottle of something and you might be able to come up with a drinking game every time star/writer Justin Bowler flashes his pearly whites.