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      Hugo Pool

      R 1997 1 hr. 32 min. Comedy List
      29% 17 Reviews Tomatometer 45% 2,500+ Ratings Audience Score A disabled client (Patrick Dempsey) charms a lonely Los Angeles pool cleaner (Alyssa Milano) and her cynical helpers. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (60) audience reviews
      Steve D Only Alyssa Milano puts forth an effort. The rest does their worst work. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch a movie that was written entirely in jive? Well, that’s what Robert Downey, Sr. and his wife tried to accomplish with Hugo Pool. It’s not so incomprehensible that you need the little old lady from Airplane to translate, but it sounds ridiculous most of the time. It’s funniest when coming from Malcolm McDowell, who exaggerates everything and clearly has a sense of the comedy in the script. The film has a very bland and basic plot, about a pool cleaner going throughout her daily duties. They attempt to make it more interesting by filling her day with odd people. Her strange parents are there for some reason. Robert Downey, Jr. plays a film-maker of some kind and he over-acts to a terrible degree. The worst addition is Patrick Dempsey as a man with ALS, with whom the main character falls in love. I’m not sure if they’re just trying to be funny by having this handicapped person there, or what, but there’s not much respect paid to this character. It is ludicrous how they throw his wheelchair in the back of a pick-up truck as if that is a logical or acceptable thing to do. Hugo Pool doesn’t have any cohesion. It is probably one of the most tolerable of Robert Downey, Sr.’s films because at least it attempts to have a story, but that isn’t saying much. We won’t even go into how this movie treats women and acts as though tattoos are the only answer if you choose to live life without promiscuous sex or drugs. If there’s any saving grace, it’s the fact that a few of the actors seemed to be trying hard, including Alyssa Milano. Sadly, there wasn’t much you could do with Hugo Pool to make it worthy of that cast. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 05/03/18 Full Review Audience Member Great Robert Downey Jr.Produced Flick -- perhaps not for everyone -- but I loved it! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Great Robert Downey Jr. Produced Flick -- perhaps not for everyone.... But I love it! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member I think it is suppose to be funny, but the laughs are not there. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Disjointed jumble of whatnot. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader I groaned my way through this black -- and blue -- romantic comedy and then decided I liked it. May 1, 2013 Full Review Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune It's as if Downey Sr.'s irreverence and off-the-wall humor couldn't quite co-exist with the heartfelt tribute he intends to make here to his wife and her fellow Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis sufferers. Rated: 2/4 May 1, 2013 Full Review Nathan Rabin AV Club A sweet, winning diversion that meanders enjoyably on the strength of its laid-back charm. May 1, 2013 Full Review Chase Burns The Stranger (Seattle, WA) You probably have never heard of Hugo Pool and you are very blessed if that's the case. Jan 5, 2022 Full Review Maitland McDonagh TV Guide A series of strenuously oddball vignettes masquerading as a movie. Rated: 1.5/4 May 1, 2013 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com What a mess. Rated: 1/5 Nov 20, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A disabled client (Patrick Dempsey) charms a lonely Los Angeles pool cleaner (Alyssa Milano) and her cynical helpers.
      Director
      Robert Downey Sr.
      Executive Producer
      Douglas Berquist, Michael Frislev, Chad Oakes
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Comedy
      Original Language
      English