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Everyone in the world of pool was hoping that Poolhall Junkies would spur interest in our sport. After all, The Hustler and The Color of Money had done wonders for the game. While Junkies lacked Paul Newman and a major studio, it did feature several stars of note. These included Christopher Walken, Chazz Palminteri, Rod Steiger and Rick Schroeder. The movie was being distributed by Golden Circle Films, who were behind the wildly successful My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Finally, the movie had gotten a thumb up from Ebert on his widely watched show.

The plan was for the movie to start small and expand. In it’s first weekend (February 28-March 2), however, Junkies brought in a paltry $301,856 (source: Screen International) and only averaged $1,686 per theatre. This is far below the nationwide average of $2,759 for the top 30 movies. In comparison, Cradle 2 The Grave, which debuted the same weekend, average $6,294 per theatre. In its second weekend, Junkies fell out of the top 30 with less than $220,000. I could not find it in this week OC Register, so that means it lasted less than two weeks in Orange County. In short, it looks like Poolhall Junkies bombed.

It is unfortunate that the movie did not grab and take off. While Junkies was far from perfect, it did provide what I many people and myself felt was an entertaining 94 minutes. And entertainment is the primary reason why most people go to the movies.

It has been proven that movies about pool can be very successful. I would hope that the box office performance of Junkies will not discourage others from attempting the next great pool movie.

Pool Hall Junkies appears best suited to the impressionable 18-34 group. Most in this group probably have never seen The Hustler or Color, so Pool Hall Junkies could be pool's coming out party for many viewers. In addition, this age bracket is always looking for the next hot leisure time activity. So if pool were to once again experience a surge in growth, it would likely come from this bracket for which the movie seems largely pointed. In short, if Pool Hall Junkies makes it even cooler to play pool, Boom #3 could be just over the horizon.

Neither The Hustler or The Color of Money presented pool in it’s best light, and yet both ignited booms in pool. Pool Hall Junkies also fails to deliver a compelling case for becoming a pool player. So it will not likely cause existing players to significantly up their participation in the sport. But the big question is: will the movie motivate those that don't play or that bang balls occasionally to take up the game in earnest? Will pool become ultra cool again? That's the Billion Dollar Question. It's a billion dollar question, because success at the box office could possibly spur a boom in pool, just like the game experienced with The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986). And if our $3 billion industry (according to estimates) were to grow by 33%, that's a cool billion dollars a year increase.

A Lot of Movie for the Money
The producers of Pool Hall Junkies squeezed a lot of movie out of a miniscule budget. When watching the movie, however, you never get the feeling that it is a low budget "B" movie. 

Pool Hall Junkies was shot at 14 locations in an around Salt Lake City. Long time pool player Robert LeBlanc, a very fine pool player, was the technical director for this movie and was responsible for the pool action. There are plenty of montages and some fine shotmaking. There are also a few shots and situations that may be a little questionable to purists. Devotees of the game should remember, however, that a large part of the audience will likely consist of newbies who are easily impressed with the theatrics. After all, we are all hoping that the movie serves the dual roles as an entertaining tale, and as a big promo for our sport.

One of the movies strong points is the music, which will certainly appeal to the 18-34 demographic and to oldsters like me whose tastes still run the gamut. Although the music adds much to the drama, it is a little loud on one song, and it competes with the dialogue in a couple of other spots.

Star Power
The acting is, by and large, superb, as you would expect from a star-studded cast Mars Callahan, who wrote and directed a crime drama titled Double Down, which appeared in 1999, plays the role of Johnny, a pool player who is very likeable and has excellent character. Pool players and those in the pool industry will be heartened to know that Johnny makes it a point of letting the audience know that it is perfectly okay to play pool for a living if it is, in fact, your passion and your calling. Mars performance is all the more impressive when you consider he assumed the dual roles of director and star.

The Eastwood name is recognizable to all moviegoers. This time it's Clint's daughter Allison, who plays the role of Johnny's girlfriend. She is quite attractive, and gives a very credible performance. Ms. Eastwood first appeared in the movie Tightrope in 1984.  She has appeared in several films including the acclaimed In the Garden of Midnight (1997) which was directed by her father. 

Chazz Palmineteri is well cast as Johnny's unscrupulous backer in the early part of the movie. Later in the film he becomes Johnny's chief nemesis Palmineteri's film career dates back to 1983. He has appeared in over 20 films including Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), in which he was nominated for an Oscar. Perhaps his best movie was a crime thriller The Usual Suspects (1995), in which he co-stars as a detective.

Christopher Walken picked the Pool Hall Junkies script because he believed it to be a genuine representation of the world of big money pool. Walken plays the part of a retired attorney who gets his kicks backing Johnny in big money games.  Walken, who first appeared in films in 1968, has a dazzling resume that includes an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Deer Hunter, which won several Oscars including Best Picture in 1978. Walken also appeared in Pulp Fiction (1994).

The late Rod Steiger, who died recently at age 76,  was a 50-year-veteran who appeared in over 100 films dating back to 1950. Steiger's credits include an Oscar for playing a small town sheriff in the classic In the Heat of the Night (1967). He was Nominated for an Oscar in 1954 for On the Waterfront and won several awards for his performance in The Pawnbroker in 1965. In Pool Hall Junkies Steiger is cast as a poolroom owner whose words of wisdom are instrumental in Johnny's development as a player.

NYPD's Rick Schroeder is Johnny's sharp shooting opponent in the big money game at the end of the movie. Pool players and those who have tuned into ESPN's broadcast of trick shot competitions will be very familiar with
Mike Massey, who appears in several scenes as St. Louie Louie. 
Other performers who appear in the movie include Michael Rosenbaum, Richard Portnow, Ernie Reyes, Jr.,Phillip Glasser, and Glenn Plummer.

The Pool Hall Junkies Story
Reality seems to be in short supply these days in Hollywood as slick production values and costly theatrics seem to overwhelm most pictures to the point where you are wondering if the characters and the story are just an after thought.  So one thing that I really liked about the Pool Hall Junkies story is that the movie, for the most part, passed my somewhat stringent reality test.

The story is a classic tale about the forces of good and evil, and about a pool player's quest for self-discovery. It includes a couple of hustles, some big money action, and a couple of fights (naturally, this is a pool movie, after all). Woven into the action is Johnny's love affair with Eastwood.  I like surprises, and I'm going to assume that you are the same way. Thus, I'm going to refrain from giving you a blow-by-blow account of this entertaining, at times humorous, and fast paced excursion into the world of hardcore pool. 

Ratings Please
I consulted the four major movie guides to see what the critics thought of the three major pool movies to date. I then calculated the percentage of "stars" won of the total possible. The ratings were as follows:
 

The Hustler	100%
The Color of Money	80.6%
The Baltimore Bullet	50.5%
Pool Hall Junkies	???

In my humble opinion, I would place Pool Hall Junkies at about 85%. It’s better than The Color of Money, but is nowhere close to The Hustler. Now I may be biased, but The Hustler just happens to be my all time favorite movie.

The Bottom Line
As a pool player, you certainly owe it to yourself to see this movie. When it comes out, I will install a forum on the web site and a poll so you can express your opinions about the film.