Hugo Pool (1997)

A different way of telling a story

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

I'm generally not a fan of Robert Downey Senior's movies. His characters tend to be cartoons and his episodic style means that we seem to be watching a series of "Saturday Night" comedy sketches. "Hugo Pool" has enough great actors in it that all the usual faults are turned into virtues. It also has a sweetness and heart that I haven't seen in any other Downey film.The film is dedicated to Downey's wife and co-writer Laura Ernst. She died of the same terrible disease that the character played by Patrick Dempsey has. It is amazing how Downey shows the disease, but never lets us get sentimental over it or be afraid of it. It is just one more comic element in the film. I hope Laura coped with it as well as Patrick Dempsey's character does.The stand out performance here is by Malcolm McDowell. His portrayal of an old drug addict trying to kick the "Ding, Dang, Du" is charming and funny and sad all at once. The only unfortunate thing is that he's only on screen for about 20 minutes.I think the harsher criticisms of this film are by people who expected a more realistic, integrated film. If you willing to give Downey his quirky style, this film is sweet and delightful.

Judging from the range of comments on Hugo Pool they seem to run the gamut. As a film, it's not the kind of thing I'd usually watch, but it did contain some rather strange characters.Alyssa Milano in between her stints as Tony Danza's daughter in Who's The Boss and one of the Halliwell sisters in Charmed was cast in the lead by director Robert Downey, Sr. She seems to have taken complete charge of the pool cleaning company that is a family business because dad (Malcolm McDowell) is reverting to being a teenager and mom (Cathy Moriarty) can't control her gambling addiction. In fact she either has to come up with the money or sleep with the bookie.Anyway somebody has to step up to the plate and Alyssa seems the only one likely to do so. She's got a lot of customers out there in Nevada who want to use their swimming pools because of the heat and who need them cleaned.Anyway on her route she meets Patrick Dempsey who even with Lou Gehrig's disease is not about to miss out on all the good things in life. In fact one of only two parts of his anatomy are untouched by amytrophic lateral sclerosis, his brain and the love muscle. In fact the second has some remarkable staying power as he informs us.Hugo Pool is the story of all these characters and the day they spend together. It's an interesting tale and maybe had it been done in a more straightforward and romantic way, I might have liked the film better.Still it's not the fault of the cast who give some very good performances. Not mentioned by me before are Robert Downey, Jr. as an egotistical movie director and Sean Penn as a hitchhiker Malcolm McDowell picks up. Dig those sky blue shoes that Penn wears.Hugo Pool might be your cup of tea, it wasn't quite mine though.

I happened to love 'Hugo Pool'. Alot of people that I have talked to did not, I think this is because there wasn't a real 'plot' to the film.I thought it was great how they developed the characters so much, they were all so different to each other and each bought a special quality to the shaping of the film. Milano and Dempsy were fantastic, a great performance by both. Downey is funny at times (the first time we meet him). However, he gets tiresome at times to watch. It's all about the characters in this film and with a great cast (Milano, Dempsy, McDowell, Penn, Downey) this film fails to disappoint. At first it looks a little iffy but I guarentee you, stick around and you will definitely NOT be disappointed by the outcome. I would of liked to see scenes with Milano's character and Sean Penn. This is the only disappointing part. I thought they would of had great chemistry on screen together. A MUST see for anyone who loves to get attached to characters and loves to learn more about different kinds of life.

From the second this movie started, it was a wonderful treat all the way to the end. Robert Downey Jr.'s character, Frans, was absolutely delightful and kept the anticipation of seeing him again at an extreme=). Sean Penn was adorable with his oddly blue shoes, Alyssa Milano with her confident little strut, and the rest of the characters added their own special and eccentric personalities to the feeling of the movie. This movie was amazing in every aspect of the word...need I say more? 10/10 for Hugo Pool. Robert Downey Sr. gives us an awesome movie from start to finish =).