Poolhall Junkies (2002) on Netflix
Johnny is a pool hustler whose mentor Joe decides who he plays. After Johnny breaks from him, Joe finds a new protégé, Brad, and a target in Johnny's younger brother Danny.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb6.8/1011,635 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes33%
Trailer
Plot summary
Johnny could be one of the best players in pool, but his mentor Joe, a stakehorse who chooses Johnny's games and opponents, has kept him from the legitimate pro tour. When Johnny learns Joe discarded an invitation to the tour, he deliberately loses a game with a large pot and cuts ties with him. Some of Johnny's friends then rough Joe up to warn him off. At his girlfriend Tara's urging, Johnny takes a job in construction and stays away from hustling, though he is miserable at it. He passes his days with Danny, his younger brother, a musician who is drawn to the hustling life Johnny left behind. Joe, bent on revenge, has found a new protégé named Brad.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Poolhall Junkies (2002)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- None of the billiards shots used camera tricks or editing; a real professional trick-shot player performed the difficult ones for real.
- Christopher Walken nailed his character's hardest trick shot on the very first take after asking the crew to roll camera during what was meant to be a rehearsal.
- Writer-director Mars Callahan is an accomplished pool player in real life, and met his co-writer Chris Corso in a pool hall where each of them was trying to hustle the other.
- The script was finished in only two weeks, yet it still took a decade to get the film made.
- The film marked the final screen role of veteran actor Rod Steiger before his death.
