COURTESY OF SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS
Johnny (Mars Callahan) takes aim in "Poolhall Junkies."‘Poolhall flunkies’
Too trite and miscast to hold its own
There have been some great pool hustler films made in the past (with "The Hustler" and "The Color of Money" being the best), but "Poolhall Junkies" starring Chazz Palminteri, Rick Schroder, Christopher Walken, the late Rod Steiger and director Mars Callahan, isn't worth the chalk used in those previous films. Review by Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.comAnd that's particularly disappointing, considering the top notch cast, with the exception of Callahan, who may not have been able to save this film even if he had stuck to directing.
"Poolhall Junkies" is filled with dialogue and scene clichés and so many shots of racked billiard balls being broken that what the audience is supposed to embrace as a special sport becomes quickly tiresome.
Part of the 6th Annual Hawaii International Spring Film Festival "Poolhall Junkies"
Rated R
Playing 9 p.m. today at Signature Dole Cannery
You don't watch "Poolhall Junkies" hoping it gets better but to see just how bad it can get.
It's got all the ingredients for a great guy film: The insider's view of a macho subculture -- the world of pool hustlers -- salty dialogue, a couple of hundred f-- words, locker-room sex talk (boring) and cocky young actors mixing it up with screen icons Walken and Steiger.
Callahan also takes his moves from other previous, and better, movies like "Diner," "Mean Streets" and "Swingers," but, unfortunately, he can't walk the walk or talk the talk.
Joe (Palminteri), a shady pool hustler well past his prime, is obsessed with the game and the cash and is willing to use anyone to get what he wants, especially his young protegé Johnny (Callahan).
Johnny is a young hustler who could've been a contender as a professional pool player if he hadn't spent the past 15 years under the thumb of the two-bit hood. He struggles to go legit after he splits from Joe, much to the relief of his law-student girlfriend Tara (Alison Eastwood) -- in a not-so-believable relationship -- and the surprise of his adoring brother Danny (Michael Rosenbaum) and their crew of buddies.
But Johnny can't stay away from the pool hall run by the fatherly Nick (Steiger). Johnny finds a potential benefactor in Tara's uncle Mike (Walken), a multimillionaire lawyer who's fascinated (though we never learn why) by Johnny's world. Joe is none too pleased over the loss of his protegé, and with the help of stoic young pro Brad (Rick Schroder), he seeks revenge on both Johnny and Danny.
COURTESY OF SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS
The film also stars Christopher Walken.
CALLAHAN'S love and knowledge of the game is obvious, but when he gave himself the lead role, he seriously miscast himself. He walks through the role so obviously he doesn't even belong in the same room as Walken or Steiger. Palminteri, however, does generate a bit of menace in his portrayal.
As a director, Callahan relies too much on slow-motion and quick edits, with the only evidence of Johnny's much-vaunted pool prowess being a few trick shots. When the movie shuts up and just plays the game, it racks up some entertaining moments. But cueing up for those often takes way too long.
The film's biggest failing is that it cheats the audience from seeing the other side of the tracks, the underbelly of pool hustling from a realistic point of view.
The dialogue is too curse heavy, filled with trite philosophizing and unfunny jokes.
Joe early on says "The art of a true hustler is beating a man out of his money and making him like it," but that won't happen with anyone who sees "Poolhall Junkies."
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