Poolhall Junkies

Starring: Mars Callahan, Chazz Palminteri, Ricky Schroder, Rod Steiger, Michael Rosenbaum, Christopher Walken, Alison Eastwood
Directed by Mars Callahan
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A pool hustler (Mars Callahan) debates getting back into the game years after he gave up on his biggest dreams.

Review:

Tim: I felt like I expected Poolhall Junkies to be a little better than it was, although it's still a fairly decent movie. There are some very good moments throughout the film, and it's an enjoyable movie. It is certainly not up to par with great pool movies like The Hustler, but it does portray a different side to the game of pool and those who play it for money than most Hollywood movies. I appreciated that refreshing, unique look. Still, the movie does have its flaws.

This movie is really all about Mars Callahan, and he deserves the credit and the blame. He is an okay director, an okay actor, and an okay writer. It's impressive he did the triple threat on this movie, but he doesn't do any of them really well. That is what holds this movie back from achieving its true potential. Mars wrote the screenplay with his buddy, and both are very inexperienced writers. The script is surprisingly good from people with little to no experience, but the inexperience shows in almost every scene. There's several "hustles" throughout the film that are so unbelievably stupid that there's no way they would work in real life. It's hilarious to watch characters go, "Okay, you got me!" when the con was just so incredibly dumb. Those were the worst moments of the film for me.

As an actor, Mars isn't bad, but he has a lot to learn as well. This is probably his strongest of the three roles he played. He has a bit of that everyman quality, and he makes at least a decent protagonist. While I didn't love him or his character, I at least connected with him enough to root for him and care whether or not he succeeded. This is good, because Mars the director has a lot to learn. I suppose it's impressive from such a young director that he could put this movie together. There's definitely some very strong moments throughout the film. It just felt like it was missing that experienced, in control presence behind the camera to pull everything together. It felt like a movie that needed a stronger director to really be great.

Still, Callahan does a good job given his situation. This is certainly an achievement for someone early in his career. Still, in the hands of experts, the movie could have been significantly better.

The supporting cast does help out quite a bit. Chazz Palminteri is good as the film's antagonist, and he does a good job of giving a menacing yet realistic performance. I also really enjoyed Christopher Walken in the film. Walken gives a small but crucial performance. I really enjoy the times when Walken plays a straightforward good guy, and he excelled in this film. His presence brings a certain amount of credibility to the film. He made this movie much better by being in it.

Poolhall Junkies isn't a very strong movie, but it does have its moments. It builds to a pretty cool climax, and the end is good enough that it makes the journey worth it. The film does show a different side to pool, and I appreciated the realism of pool hustling as shown here. This movie is definitely worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Hustler, The Color of Money