Hugo Pool (1997)

Too much of everything

Just perfect...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

How sad is this?

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 thought this film was quirky and well done. The Cathy Moriarty character was annoying, but the scenes with Penn and McDowell were quite funny!! Dempsey was fantastic giving his character life, and it is refreshing to see Milano in a role that is not centered around sex.* * * * S P O I L E R * * * *My favourite scene would have to be the switch between Penn and McDowell...the puppet that McDowell's character uses to inject 'the ring dan doon' and Penn's shoes. Really funny!!!If you like quirky, different movies, this one's a definite watch

Parts of this film were absolutely great, and that makes it all the more difficult to accept the fact that the movie as a whole wasn't very good. The best parts of the movie involve the relationship between Milano and Dempsey. Both give wonderful performances, and the story should have focused entirely on these two characters. Unfortunately, much of the screen time is occupied by characters who aren't the least bit entertaining. In particular, the McDowell-Penn scenes, and every single second with Downey are just plain bad. Quite simply, when this film tries to be more serious, or even just somewhat realistic, it's very good. But more often than not, it opts for stupidity and is generally pointless.

This is a fun movie! It was nice to see a movie that didn't remind me of something else. Alyssa Milano, Cathy Moriarty, Malcolm McDowell, and Sean Penn were great. A special applause to Patrick Dempsey, who shows that acting is more than just saying words. I was very touched by his performance and the bond formed by Floyd and Hugo. All in all, an unusual fun movie with a "quirky gait." Rent it and you won't be disappointed.