As a long-time fan of Chris Pine’s work, it’s both heartwarming and heartbreaking to witness his directorial debut with “Poolman.” On one hand, it’s fantastic to see an actor I admire stepping behind the camera, but on the other, watching a film he poured his heart into being met with such criticism is disheartening.
After a rocky start, the film “Poolman” managed to stay afloat and even reached No. 1 position on the streaming service following its release on November 8. This was one of the few positive outcomes that first-time director Chris Pine could point to after his directorial debut received harsh criticism from both critics and viewers alike.
The criticism for this comedic mystery film has been extremely severe, resulting in a very low rating of 21% on the Tomatometer based on 57 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Steve Rose from The Guardian was particularly critical of Pine’s directorial debut, giving it just one star out of five. In his review, he harshly commented:
Chris Pine typically comes across as appealing on screen, yet in this film, he’s not at his best due to a weak script and overly extravagant direction. This might be linked to the fact that one of the screenwriters is Chris Pine himself, and the director is also a newcomer named Chris Pine.
Similarly, since the movie has been released on streaming platforms, many viewers have attempted to recreate scenes from the film, famously known as “Poolman”. At the current moment, there are fewer than 50 verified reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Nevertheless, Chris Pine’s directorial debut scores just 20% on the Popcornmeter (previously known as the audience score). To make matters worse, one viewer named Joshua S. stopped watching the movie after only 35 minutes! His review, also posted on Rotten Tomatoes, reads:
“I find myself somewhat remorseful about writing this review because I wasn’t able to watch the entire movie; only 35 minutes of it. The dialogue seemed aimless and self-centered, and I never quite understood if there was an underlying storyline. Frankly, it was dull, frustrating, and slow-paced.
Chris Pine Defends His ‘F*cking Panned’ Directorial Debut
The world premiere of Poolman’s movie was held at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024, marking Chris Pine’s directorial debut. However, since then, it has been met with a barrage of poor reviews and unfavorable online chatter. Despite this negative reception, Chris Pine, once the Captain of the Enterprise, stood by his creation amidst the film’s controversy. During an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Pine expressed his defense for his cherished project:
When the movie premiered at Toronto and received harsh criticism instead, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of… Well, I wasn’t entirely shocked since during production, I often found myself thinking, “Oh dear God.” I had intended to create a cheerful film that I felt was quite unique… Not some specific genre film. However, given the overwhelming joy I put into it, encountering such a barrage of negative feedback was like, “Wow!” The contrast between my optimistic intentions and the reality of the critical response was quite striking.
In the stellar lineup of Poolman, alongside Pine, were Danny DeVito, Ariana DeBose, Annette Bening, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and none other than Stephen Tobolowsky from Groundhog Day. Yet, it was fellow actor DeWanda Wise who stepped up to assist the director in an exclusive conversation with MovieWeb, as she shared in an interview. Wise stated:
I serve as the head of the Chris Pine fan group, a shout-out to the man himself! He was remarkably detailed in his approach. Working on some projects can be quite collaborative, allowing for individual creativity and experimentation. However, with Poolman, it was different – we were deeply immersed in a particular genre, constantly refining our work to fit the specifics of that world.
It’s a genre I love. I’m obsessed with film noir. I always have been. I grew up on film noir. I trained as an actor in film noir, randomly, so I know the conceits in my body. I know how to find the light. I know everything about it. And being directed by him with that degree of both technical and emotional proficiency. I just relished it. I loved it so much.”
Currently, Poolman is available for streaming on Hulu. Despite being 44 years old, Chris Pine may have been a bit green to step down from the captain’s seat of the U.S.S. Enterprise to take up directing. However, it’s clear that Pine’s passion was genuine, and there’s no need to count him out as a potential director in the future. It’s worth noting that George Lucas’ initial film, THX 1138 (1971), didn’t fare well initially before Lucas became the renowned filmmaker who transported us to a galaxy far, far away… and beyond.
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2024-11-13 16:01