Poolhall Junkies (2002)

Director:

Mars Callahan

Writers:

Mars Callahan (written by) and
Chris Corso (written by)

Release Date:

21 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

It's your shot. Take it.

Plot:

A talented pool hustler who has stayed out of the game for years, must go back to his old ways when his little brother gets involved with his enemy, the very man who held him back from greatness.

Plot Keywords:

Pool | Pool Hustler | Pool Hall | Pool Game | Party

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Chazz Palminteri	...	Joe
Rick Schroder	...	Brad
Rod Steiger	...	Nick
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Danny
Mars Callahan	...	Johnny
Alison Eastwood	...	Tara
Phillip Glasser	...	Max
Anson Mount	...	Chris
Glenn Plummer	...	Chico
Richard Portnow	...	Toupee Jay
Ernie Reyes Jr.	...	Tang
Peter Mark Richman	...	Phillip
Christopher Walken	...	Mike
Mike Massey	...	Louis
Orien Richman	...	Brett

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | UK:15 | USA:R | Germany:12 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company:

Gold Circle Films

Trivia:

In real life Mars Callahan is an accomplished pool player who met co-writer Chris Corso in a pool hall where each was trying to hustle the other. After a bitterly contested game (neither will tell who actually won) the two became best friends. Swapping war stories about their mutual experiences playing pool, the two decided to write a script based on their experiences and observations. Two weeks later the script was completed, but it would take another ten years to get it to the big screen.

Goofs:

Continuity: Mike is sitting down/standing up between shots at the end of the first game after he arrives to back Johnny.

Quotes:

Joe: You beat them, you take their money, you call them names to their faces... and they love you. I don't know how you do it. I never saw anything like it. Beating a man out of his money, that's easy. Anybody can do that. But beating a man out of his money and making him like it... that's an art. That's an art of a true hustler.

Movie Connections:

References Trees Lounge (1996)

Soundtrack:

Whole Lotta Heart

worth watching and excellent if you play too

Christopher Walken happens to be one of my favourites, and it was a nice surprise to see him in this film - but even without his charismatic acting, it would surely have been worth the time. Excellent showing of the game at it's brilliant best, it is also pretty funny, mostly believable (even tho a couple of times the hustling was made a bit too easy) and has more depth than Color of Money or the old one which had Minnesota Fats in it.. forgot the name of that one.

I'd double rate this film 9-10 for pool players, 7-9 for others.

Oh and the guy playing the hustler is a nice find, hope to see him in some other new films too.