Chris Pine’s “Poolman”: A dream dashed by critics’ scorn
12 May 2024 18:04
"Poolman" was supposed to appear in American theatres at the end of last year. However, after the Toronto festival, critics gave it such ratings that nobody thought of showing it to the audience on the big screen anymore. The film's creator, Hollywood star Chris Pine, talked about what he felt when he read the first reviews.
"Poolman" became the directorial debut of Chris Pine, a popular actor known from hits like the "Star Trek" movie series, "Wonder Woman", and recently "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves". Pine aimed to create a movie in the vein of Roman Polanski's "Chinatown", but with a comedic twist. He penned the screenplay, raised the funds, and took on roles in front and behind the camera. History shows that such authorial projects by Hollywood stars often end in spectacular failure. And so it was for Chris Pine.
Pine enlisted Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Ray Wise to star in his movie. "Brilliant team, but they had nothing substantial to work with. The movie is bogged down by weak jokes, lengthy, and monotonous dialogues leading nowhere," wrote a "Variety" critic.
"Poolman" tells the story of Darren (a bearded Chris Pine), an LA native, who professionally maintains a swimming pool at an apartment complex. He also endeavours to make his hometown a better place to live. In doing so, he finds himself against a corrupt politician and greedy land developers.
I was literally gutted by the critics
"The screening of the movie in Toronto was a disaster. When I read the reviews, I thought I would burn with shame. The critics literally gutted me. I wanted to sink into the ground. Wondering if I messed up... Maybe I had made a disaster of a film... I went back and watched the film again. Then I realised, I love it. I truly love this film and I'll stand by it," said Pine in the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast.
When criticism comes your way as an actor, it's easy to dodge it. As an actor, you show up on set, do your part, and then you're off, often moving on to countless new projects even before the film is released. When you're the director, however, you are bound to your film - Chris Pine noted.
