By John Corrado

★½ (out of 4)

The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7th to 17th, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

Many actors have made the leap to directing over the years, with the results sometimes being better than others. And then there’s Chris Pine’s directorial debut Poolman, a goofy, weirdo riff on Chinatown that tries too hard to be Under the Silver Lake or Inherent Vice, but fails almost completely in the process.

Pine stars in the film as Darren Barrenman, an eccentric pool cleaner who writes daily letters to his hero Erin Brockovich, and attends local city council meetings to push for a better bus system, and berate his local councilman (Stephen Tobolowsky) with elaborate presentations. The character is clearly modelled after The Dude in The Big Lebowski, another touchstone stoner classic that Pine almost shamelessly riffs on, without capturing the same genuine vibes.

When Darren is approached by the shadowy June Del Rey (DeWanda Wise), who tips him off that something is afoot at city hall, he believes he has uncovered a plot to steal L.A.’s water. So Darren puts on his VHS copy of Chinatown as “research,” enlisting the help of pilates instructor girlfriend Susan (Jennifer Jason Leight), his analyst Diane (Annette Bening) and her husband Jack (Danny DeVito), a failed film director shooting a documentary about Darren’s exploits.

Pine’s character was reportedly developed as a joke with Patty Jenkins (a producer on this project) on the set of Wonder Woman, and the whole thing feels like an inside joke, or an improv comedy sketch stretched well beyond its breaking point. Pine doesn’t so much play a role, as much as he just plays a version of himself who has long hair and says weird things about lizard people and other internet conspiracy theories.

The problem is that David Robert Mitchell already did the stoner riff on Chinatown much better with Under the Silver Lake, and Poolman struggles to do much of anything interesting with its comedy noir premise. Pine’s film occasionally amuses with a line reading, and DeVito and Tobolowsky do have their moments here and there, but it also feels surprisingly sluggish as a whole. It doesn’t work in the end, but is so bafflingly misguided that it may end up gaining a following as a sort of cult movie.

Public Screenings: Monday, September 11th, 9:30 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox; Tuesday, September 12th, 8:30 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox; Sunday, September 17th, 11:00 AM at Scotiabank Theatre