MovieChat Forums > Poolhall Junkies (2003) Discussion > ridiculous...

ridiculous...

posted 19 years ago by phaser-5
20 replies | jump to latest

I think it's a bit ridiculous they cast an actor like rick schroder in a part of someone who's ranked 13th in the country...I mean, no disrespect at all to his acting skills, I thought he did a pretty good job in the movie apart from the scenes when he's actually playing pool ;)
It's so obvious, for someone who has played a lot of pool, or has watched a reasonable amount of pool games, that he is not even remotely a professional pool player.
First of all, his bridge, 99% of professional players (besides snooker players who play 9 ball) use a closed hand bridged usually while he constantly uses the open hand bridge, and he uses it quite poorly...you can actually see that the stroke is not at all stable and consistent.
Secondly, he moves his hand and his head after each shot which is almost the first thing a professional player would be taught NOT to do..
Besides that, and I can't really put my finger on it exactly, you can see that he's not a very good player just by looking at him play, his movements around the table, the way he positions himself to take the shot, etc..etc..
I mean, you can see the Johnny (i forgot the name of the actor) is pretty good player, and in comparison to the way schroder plays, it looks a bit ridiculous..
thanks for listening ;)

[–] phaser-5 19 years ago

well...
it seems i'm kinda talking to myself in here but nevermind, there's another thing i've noticed about his game which makes him totally unbelievable as a pool hustler.
look at his break...it's the worst break i've ever seen, I mean, not only he does NEVER pocket any ball on the break, something that even an amateur player is quite capable of doing, but he also doesn't literally "break" the balls, they just remain there, close to one another...:)

Thanks for listening again...
and maybe I'll hear some replies someday...

[–] tatmando_77 19 years ago

God, I hope they never make a movie about tattooing. I'm sure I'd pick it apart and not be able to enjoy it.

[–] thewolfmann04 18 years ago

There are a lot of times that people do not make any balls off of the break. It often has to do with the fact that the rack might not be tight enough, which also results in some of the balls not moving. I've played with a couple of pros and I've seen it where they haven't made anything on the break. It just happens sometimes.

[–] phaser-5 19 years ago

I did enjoy the movie...
but I do think that there needs to be a certain degree of believability to the character and the movie, and whether they could have taken other measures to make schroder more believable or just hire another character its up to them but don't you agree that, let's say for example, that someone who plays a basketball player should be able to appear to us the viewers as a professional player?
I mean, it would be ridiculous if someone who played basketball player would not be able to make a basket :) it's quite the same here although not as extreme as that.
Also, noticing the differences in pool playing ability is more difficult for most viewers since they do not play enough pool to notice..

[–] tatmando_77 19 years ago

I'll have to agree that Schroder's character looked to be more of a Hustler than a pro and they should have just made him that way. Maybe they wanted to give Johnny some credibilty in having him beat a pro.

[–] phaser-5 19 years ago

I partly agree with what you're saying and your analogy is in place but I think that in this movie the case is slightly different.
In action movies we are supposed to be persuaded into believing that the hero/heroin is some sort of killing machine/martial artist/etc.. and in order to do that we get to see things that don't make sense but the goal is achieved as we do get to believe (in the "world" that the movie takes place) that the hero is what I said above..
but in this case, we are supposed to believe that the supporting hero of the movie (rick schroder) is a pool star but the movie takes no measures to persuade us of that...

[–] pinkled5 19 years ago

You've got to be able to suspend your disbelief somewhat in most movies in order to enjoy them. Rarely do people pick apart a good action flick just because most everything in it is farfetched and nearly impossible. No, in order to be entertained we have to put that aside a bit. I didn't think there was anything too raucous in order to impede on the suspension of my disbelief and, therefore, the entertainment value of this movie.

[–] phaser-5 19 years ago

I partly agree with what you're saying and your analogy is in place but I think that in this movie the case is slightly different.
In action movies we are supposed to be persuaded into believing that the hero/heroin is some sort of killing machine/martial artist/etc.. and in order to do that we get to see things that don't make sense but the goal is achieved as we do get to believe that the hero is what I said above..
but in this case, we are supposed to believe that the supporting hero of the movie (rick schroder) is a pool star but the movie takes no measures whatsoever to persuade us of that...

[–] powermancer 18 years ago

The got a credible actor to play a pool pro... I mean seriously, what pro would let an actor beat him even on film? Pool Players are notorious for believing they can never get beat. When I step to the table, there is no way the other person is going to take me... no matter what his skill level or ranking is. If you went into this movie thinking that the kid from silver spoons was going to be professional, I feel sorry for you. If you want to pick things apart, look at the games them selves, especially the last game they played. Every shot was lined up and they cut film for every shot cause the cue ball moved out of position, and I believe that was Callahan shooting. The movie is very entertaining, even if it is very unrealistic. The fabulous shots they took are trick shots that really good players never need to use ecept for entertainment.

[–] phaser-5 18 years ago

"The got a credible actor to play a pool pro... I mean seriously, what pro would let an actor beat him even on film? Pool Players are notorious for believing they can never get beat"

What about Keith McCready letting Tom Cruise beat the crap outta him in "The Color of Money". Keith, I remind you, was one of the best pool players in the 80's.

"If you went into this movie thinking that the kid from silver spoons was going to be professional"

Who said I wanted him to be a professional? However, a film has to be convincing, and Rick Schroder, as talented as he may be, was not the least bit convincing as a pool player. Paul Newman in "The huslter", for example, did not know how to play pool before the movie was shot, but he appeared to be a rather convincing pool player in the movie.

"I feel sorry for you"

Thanks for feeling sorry for me. It's always nice to get some sympathy from absolute strangers who don't know me.

"If you want to pick things apart, look at the games them selves, especially the last game they played. Every shot was lined up and they cut film for every shot cause the cue ball moved out of position, and I believe that was Callahan shooting"

You're absolutely correct. I never said the games themselves were convincing. But I do recall saying that I did like the movie and that it was entertaining.

"The fabulous shots they took are trick shots that really good players never need to use ecept for entertainment."

Correct as well. Most shots were purely for entertainment value, and were not very realistic.

[–] onlyzster 19 years ago

Just wanted to comment on your bridge observation.
The bridge for all players is a matter of feel. If you look at the some of the top money winners (Female: Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Karen Corr, Gerta Hoffstatter) (Male: Effrin Reyes, Ralf Souquet, Johnny Archer, Francisco Bustamante) all use both bridges, but predominately use the open hand bridge because the open hand bridge can be used in ALL shots, where a closed hand can be difficult for shot in which you have to reach. Where yes the closed hand bridge does offer more stability, it also hinders in sighting down the cue. (direct quote from Allison Fisher and Gerta Hoffstatter).

Now the rest of your comments I agree 100%.
No, he doesn't use his bridge affectively.
No, he's not comfortable shooting pool.
Yes, his stroke is attrocious. Definately not smooth at all.
Yes, he moves way too much, jumping up after his shots instead of staying down. (a definate amature bad habit)
Now something that I noticed was that his stance was never really stable. He would lean into a few of his shots.
Overall though, this movie rocks. Good actors, good story, good camera work, good sound track. Yes it has flaws, but what movie (even the big block busters) doesn't?

[–] phaser-5 19 years ago

Yes I agree..
It was a really fun movie to watch..
I just thought that it could have been better if they had cast someone more talented at pool for the role schroder played...
but still great to watch :)

[–] onlyzster 19 years ago

Most definately. I personally would have loved to have seen some real big name pool players in addition to Mike Massey.
It is one of my favorite movies. Own two copies, and can recite the damn thing almost verbatim, much to the chagrin of my friends. lol.
One other thing that I liked about the movie, is that they tried as much as possible to show the entire shot of those making them. Instead of a close up of the "shooter" just to switch to a close up of the shot, where you know damn well that they had a pro stand in.
Oh well, for actual fans of any movie, you'll have someone who loves the subject matter enough (or someone who has enough experience) to be able to tear it apart. hehe, sometimes, that's part of the fun.
Anyway, nice sharing insite and observations.

[–] imanafrican 18 years ago

i guess i didn't really notice how bad rick was at shooting pool because i was to busy laughing at the ridiculous dialogue in the movie. the plot was decent, but not at all original, but the writing made the movie terrible. i barely made it all the way through the movie. and that trick shot that guy does to win the bet against those rich guys is not that hard of a shot at all. i tried it right after i saw the movie and it only took me a few times to do it, and i am an average player at best. this movie sucked.

[–] bmodica 18 years ago

I am a pool player, and simply from that aspect, this flick sucked. Not a single thing, relating to pool, was believable. I completely understand taking cinematic license, but, c'mon, the 13th ranked player using a $12 fiberglass cue carried in a violin case? Whoever thought those up obviously never played around the game. Hollywood junk, phooey. On top of that, Mars Callahan looks just plain wierd.

Billy the Kid

[–] dballred 18 years ago

Looking at this from a pool player's perspective, I agree with you. Like most pool movies, most of the actors can't shoot. Even with coaching, it's easy to spot a nonplayer. Paul Newman, who has been a pool enthusiast in real life since his performance in The Hustler, comes off a bit amateurish in The Color of Money. Tom Cruise in the same film was a joke. Rick Scroeder in this film looked like a total neophyte. However, the guy who played Johnny definitely knows how to handle a cue and they showed a nicely accomplished runout without cutting away.

I have a couple of story line issues as well--from a player's perspective. Johnny was, for some reason in the film, afraid of "professional" players. Accomplished money players have no fear of tournament professionals, because the former are usually better in the long run--and know the brutal side of the mental game more intimately.

Chris Walken's character is a money player's dream--and there aren't more than a few of them in the country. Instead of riding in to save the good guy like in the movie, they are willing suckers. There's a wealthy Seattle lawyer who (I don't know if he knows this) is being drained dry by low-life leeches. A far more likely scenario with the briefcase full of cash is that the Johhny character would lose--then the two players would slip out back and split the money.

Overall, the movie was entertaining--and above average in the hustle category--but it was nothing compared to The Hustler.

[–] spyder7 18 years ago

You should spend your time nit-picking over movies that are actually GOOD instead of B movies like this. Walken is the only thing that made this movie the least bit palatable...well Steiger had a little left in him still. What about nearly the entire script? Was it written by a 6th grader? That is a valid concern...who cares whether the actors actually "look" like professional billiards players?

[–] 18 years ago

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