I think Chris Pine's intention was to create an homage to LA noir movies of yesteryear peppered with a bit of crime, a bit of mystery and a bit of dark comedy. Trouble is I don't think any of it landed.

The movie looks good. It's well shot and has the visual feel I imagine was intended.

The plot, rather than being intriguing and complex is an absolute mess, the comedy doesn't land and Pine's attempts to create a deep and tragic lead just result in an annoying, waffling buffoon.

The cast is pretty underused in my opinion. Annette Benning, Danny DeVito and Jennifer Jason-Leigh should be offering plenty of clout but really are bit parts.

Not for me I'm afraid.

Darren Barrenman (Chris Pine) is a Poolman and proprietor of Awesome Aquatics. It takes place in Los Angeles sometime after the release of "Erin Brockovich" (2000). He lives in a small trailer in the Tahitian Tiki apartment block where he cares for their pool. Susan (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is his girlfriend. She wants to open a Pilates place in Palm Springs. Civically involved, Darren attends the city council meetings where he always speaks, mostly about bringing back trolley cars. He wants to do a documentary with Jack (Danny DeVito) who lives with Diane (Annette Bening). She is his therapist and they treat them like their own son.

They attempted to make the film quirky by giving Chris Pine a "Big Lebowski" type character, although he couldn't pull it off. The silly scenes look just that: silly. They were meant to be funny although the humor didn't land. The tree didn't work. The origami almost worked. The silly advice he constantly gets should have worked, but didn't. The trip on the scooter with the gold outfit failed.

Guide: F-word. Brief sex. No nudity.

Directorio debut and a mess, i dont think Chris Pine can be a very successful director, he is not a director material to be honest and i can see that here clearly, this was sad to watch, the incredible award winning cast is just sad to look, Pine needs to continue his action carrer and stop with this nonsense, he is not Bradley Cooper, he is not a good filmmaking, i hole he can understand that and continue to work in his amazing acting skills, Dungeons and dragons last year was amazing and funny, that's they things Pine needs to be doing and not this waste of cast and locations, its just a mess.