Chris Pine has realized a project close to his heart with Poolman, in which the Star Trek actor took on the role of director, screenplay and lead at the same time. The first press reviews report a disaster
Chris Pine has already played a variety of roles on the big screen in his career. In his latest project Poolman, however, the actor is not only in front of the camera, but was also responsible for the screenplay and took a seat in the director’s chair for the first time. The mystery comedy about a pool attendant philosophizing to himself is intended to combine Pine’s love letter to the city of Los Angeles with a personal affair of the heart.
The new trailer now shows the Star Trek star in his self-written role, in which he is hardly recognizable. We see the otherwise often slick Kirk actor as a Big Lebowski-like Dude-verse with a full beard, long hair and all kinds of abstruse ideas
And here’s the preview we’re talking about:
Star Trek star Chris Pine goes for a swim in Poolman – and that includes the critics
Numerous critics have been saying for months that Pine is not on the same level as the Coen brothers. After all, Poolman was a complete flop at its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2023. The industry publication Variety, for example, described the film as an “absurd disaster” and reported disappointedly of numerous viewers who fled the screening in Toronto.
(Chris Pine in Poolman)
The Hollywood Reporter also believes that the film’s tone is completely off the mark, dragging the impressive star cast of Annette Bening, Danny DeVito and Jennifer Jason Leigh to the bottom of the sea with it. So it’s no wonder that Poolman currently has a miserable score of just 23 percent on Rotten Tomatoes
This is what Poolman is about
Although Darren (Pine) earns his living by maintaining and repairing the pool of a tiki apartment block, he is a full-time dreamer and wannabe philosopher. One day, when he gets wind of a large-scale theft, he is suddenly torn out of his rut and has to do everything in his power to save his beloved Los Angeles from the devastating consequences.
Poolman will be released in cinemas in the USA on May 10, 2024. It is not yet known when the film will be released on the big or small screen in this country.
