Poolman (film)

Last updated

Poolman
Poolman 2024 poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Chris Pine
Written by
  • Chris Pine
  • Ian Gotler
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Matthew Jensen
Edited by Stacey Schroeder
Music by Andrew Bird
Production
companies
Distributed by Vertical Entertainment
Release dates
  • September 11, 2023 (2023-09-11)(TIFF)
  • May 10, 2024 (2024-05-10)(United States)
Running time
100 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$131,000 [2] [3]

Poolman is a 2023 American comedy mystery film directed, produced, co-written by and starring Chris Pine in his directorial debut. It also stars Annette Bening, DeWanda Wise, Stephen Tobolowsky, Clancy Brown, John Ortiz, Ray Wise, Juliet Mills, Ariana DeBose, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Danny DeVito.

Contents

The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released in the United States on May 10, 2024. The film received negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Darren Barrenman is a pool cleaner in Los Angeles, living in an old apartment complex (The Tahitian Tiki) owned by parental figures Jack and Diane. He is an advocate, inspired by Erin Brockovich, constantly pitching his local council on potential improvements, to the disdain of councillor Stephen Toronkowski. [4]

Femme fatale June Del Rey reveals a real-estate and water plot by Toronkowski that requires Barrenman's detective skills.

Barrenman draws on his eclectic group of friends and fellow residents to track Toronkowski and photograph his misdeeds. [5]

Cast

Production

It was announced in February 2022 that Chris Pine was set to make his directorial debut on the film, which he co-wrote the screenplay for with Ian Gotler. Pine will also star in the film alongside Annette Bening and Danny DeVito. [6] [7] Pine came up with the idea for the film during a conversation with director Patty Jenkins, who will serve as a producer. [8] In May, Ariana DeBose and Jennifer Jason Leigh were added to the cast, with Matthew Jensen set as cinematographer. [9] In July, DeWanda Wise joined the cast. [10]

Filming began in June 2022 in Los Angeles. [11] The film moved to post-production by November 2022, with the distribution rights being sold by AGC International to Paramount Pictures, StudioCanal, Lionsgate Films and other companies for multiple countries outside the United States. [12] The rights for the UK and Ireland were sold to Signature Entertainment. [7]

Release

Poolman's world premiere took place at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023. [13] [14] In December 2023, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film. [15]

The film was released in the United States on May 10, 2024. [16]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 17% of 41 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2.9/10. [17] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 32 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [18]

Michael Rechtshaffen, writing for The Hollywood Reporter , called the film a "shrill misfire" and predicted that it would "likely have a tough time finding a home". [19] Siddhant Adlakha from IndieWire opined that the film was "disastrous" and "[i]t’s only 100 minutes long, but upward of 99 of those minutes are likely to be spent in silent boredom, if not irritated disbelief at being subjected to such guileless, artless nonsense". [20]

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References

  1. ↑ "Poolman (15)". BBFC . March 10, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Poolman". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved May 12, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. ↑ "Poolman". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  4. ↑ https://www.joblo.com/poolman-tiff-review/
  5. ↑ https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/poolman-film-review-2024
  6. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (February 8, 2022). "AGC Launches Chris Pine's Directorial Debut Poolman With Patty Jenkins & Stacey Sher Producing; Pine Leads Cast With Annette Bening & Danny DeVito – EFM Hot Pic". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Wiseman, Andreas (October 26, 2022). "Chris Pine's Directorial Debut 'Poolman' Gets UK Deal". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ Odman, Sydney (March 30, 2022). "Chris Pine on How Directorial Debut Poolman Came Together". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  9. ↑ Lodderhose, Diana (May 16, 2022). "Ariana DeBose & Jennifer Jason Leigh Join Chris Pine's Directorial Debut Poolman". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  10. ↑ Kroll, Justin (July 7, 2022). "Jurassic World: Dominions DeWanda Wise Joins Chris Pine's Directorial Debut Poolman". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  11. ↑ Travis, Emlyn (July 1, 2022). "Prepare to Gasp Over Unrecognizable Chris Pine's New Look". E! . Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (November 1, 2022). "AGC International reports major pre-sales on Chris Pine directing debut 'Poolman' (exclusive)". Screen Daily . Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Poolman". Toronto International Film Festival . Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 24, 2023). "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders Dumb Money, The Holdovers, Rustin; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  15. ↑ Grobar, Matt (December 20, 2023). "Chris Pine Comedy 'Poolman' Lands At Vertical". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  16. ↑ Wang, Jessica (March 14, 2024). "Chris Pine is a Poolman turned detective in zany trailer for his directorial debut". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Poolman". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved May 10, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  18. ↑ "Poolman". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  19. ↑ Rechtshaffen, Michael (September 12, 2023). "'Poolman' Review: Chris Pine's Noir-Drenched L.A. Comedy Is a Shrill Misfire". The Hollywood Reporter .
  20. ↑ Adlakha, Siddhant (September 13, 2023). "'Poolman' Review: Chris Pine's Disastrous Directorial Debut".
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