This movie might appear terrible, low-budget crap but it's actually quite an intelligent film. It is self-referential in that it becomes a scathing commentary on action/war movies such as Lethal Weapon, Rocky and Apocalypse Now, while at the same time reacting and intersecting with other narratives such as "porn" and "blaxplotation" films. And it's f'n funny. Don't listen to the haters...go into it with an OPEN mind...it's actually quite good in, again, a gentle mocking, side-long smirk at's own stupidity (and as an extension, the whole spoon-fed mass media grub we suck down without ever questioning the basis for such narratives such as racism, titillation of both flesh and fear, blood lust and revenge flicks). And it's f'n funny.

Good God...where to begin. I actually watched this on Nextflix because there was literally nothing else to watch....and I am SO glad that I did. The other reviewers who have reviewed it, I couldn't agree more. The movie is extremely racist (which I personally love and found hilarious) - the movie is literally no joke suppose to be made terrible, and it is...but it is in a sense of hilarity that is unabashed in recent years. I had to keep constantly checking on my girlfriend and 11 month old because I was actually laughing out loud, and very loud at that. The laughs were right after another, Kevin Sorbo is classic - i'm cracking up while i'm writing this because the movie is just so stupid - it was just hilarious. If you like straight up dumb movies, watch this. Please remember, the movie is SUPPOSE TO BE MADE POORLY! that's what makes it fantastic. It was one of the best comedies that i have seen in quite some time, and I mean that.

I'm not sure what got me to give "Poolboy" a chance. Maybe it was because I had a free rental, or that it had the great Danny Trejo in it. Deep down, I suspected it might be a lazy effort, but I was wrong. Although the movie is very low budget, the effort by the cast and crew is VERY enthusiastic. Gags are executed one after the other at such a rapid pace that at times it makes the legendary Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker comedy look like slowpokes. And while the movie had a poverty row budget, it actually manages to take advantage of it to execute some pretty funny gags.The movie definitely has some funny moments. However, there are plenty of gags that also fall flat. Many of the gags are the kind you would associate with teenage boys who get their hands on a camcorder and try to make a comedy. While that kind of thing can be funny in small doses, they stretch it out for ninety minutes, which is long past the breaking point. Also, while the movie is refreshingly politically incorrect, there are enough slams against Mexicans that might make some viewers uncomfortable.Still, the movie has its moments. And I can say with confidence that I think there are a lot of people out there who would find this movie funnier than I did. In fact, I would not be surprised if in several years the movie manages to build a substantial cult following.

I recently stumbled upon Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury and was inspired to write this review. The storyline is quite simple. Vietnam military veteran returns home from the war to Van Nuys California and finds that white suburbia has been tarnished with migrant laborers performing pool cleaning labor. His wife takes off with a Mexican pool cleaning rival. He soon realizes that he must clean all the Mexican's out of white suburbia. Five minutes into this movie (if you can make it five minutes) and you will be screaming that beyond being simply a horrible movie it is offensively racist as well. But like a hooded cobra which mesmerizes it's prey before injecting lethal poison and destroying all sense of movie viewing taste; ten minutes into Poolboy and you will begin to notice some critical facts.Some low budget movies may have an offending story or awful acting. Perhaps they have terrible special effects or have a cheap overall feel. But few can combine all of these items together as well as Poolboy. The more I watched the more fascinated I became. It wasn't one of those "it's so bad it's good" situations. It was more along the line of of being artistically terrible. In fact, within those ten minutes it became the "best worst movie" I had seen all year. Everything about Poolboy is awful. The acting has industry veterans such as Kevin Sorbo, Danny Trejo, Robert LaSardo along with total unknowns who were probably working as boom operator's before their "lucky break." Regardless of the experience the acting was ALL BAD. Not only was the acting bad but the special effects were terrible. I swear you could see the Heintz and Karo labels littering the ground with all the watered down blood. The movie is filled with many of these cheap special effects. Halfway through the movie I wondered what the point of all the bad special effects were, but then I though perhaps Poolboy served as an industry junior special effects camp that helped pay for some of the budget costs for the movie. The camera work and setting was also terrible but at least they splurged and got one of those camcorders with a stabilizer.The main character of the movie was Kevin Sorbo playing Sal Brando (i.e. poolboy). As a fan of Kevin's it was almost a tearful event watching him play this part. This wasn't Captain Dylon Hunt of the Andromeda or Hercules battling the Gods. This was simply Kevin Sorbo having to put food on the real life family table. Damn you TV land!! Put together a decent show for this talented actor.Like a bar of extremely bitter dark chocolate, Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury isn't a movie for everyone. Most people will probably turn off this movie and run from the room gagging within a short amount of time. However for those who can choke this movie down it has provides a strangely rewarding experience. I am convinced that Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury remains a contender for not only this year's "BEST WORST FILM" but will stand out for the entire decade!