The Color of Money

The problem with pool movies is that it is much, much too easy to get dramatic shots of billiard balls smacking into each other, caroming and rebounding off of the cushions, with accompanying CRACK! noises, and so the pictures fall prey to that temptation. Even this one. Even with Scorsese directing. Even with Paul Newman, who is very good. Even with Tom Cruise, who is great. There are a couple of editing spasms (usually involving the aforementioned billiard balls) which I am convinced were arranged while Scorsese was at lunch. The picture is beautifully photgraphed, and quite frankly, pretty bad. It sort of wanders around moodily, seeming to think it has a message, but apparently not having the slightest idea what that message is. The players embark on a cross-country pool hustling expedition, and the film assigns a truly mythic weight to these goings on, but alas, these goings on don't deserve it. As opposed to a good picture that you didn't like, this is a well-made BAD picture that you also didn't like. It really, really dragged, and I kept wondering when it would be over. I also had a problem hearing the dialogue, though I don't know whether this was the fault of the film or the theater. Anyway, some of the technical elements are good, but the script is poor and the motivation murky. The acting is about the only reason to see it. And remember, a true pro would never, ever use his Babushka on the break.