Product Details

• Actors: Alyssa Milano, Mark Boone Junior, Malcolm McDowell, Sean Penn, Robert Downey Jr.
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Lorber
• VHS Release Date: September 28, 1999
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JRWT
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,187 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There's a fine line between quirky and gimmicky; at times Hugo Pool can't decide whether to be a cute comedy or a mawkish melodrama. Alyssa Milano is Hugo, the owner-operator of a pool company. She has a staggering 44 pools to service in one day, so she shanghais her gambling-addicted mom (Cathy Moriarty), a drug-whacked director (Robert Downey Jr.), and a new client, who happens to be an ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) sufferer (Patrick Dempsey), to help her. Hugo's under an or-else deadline to fill a mobster's (Richard Lewis) pool, so she dispatches her alcoholic junkie dad (Malcolm McDowell) to fetch Colorado River water in a tank truck and bring it back. He picks up a strange hitchhiker (Sean Penn) and becomes obsessed with his shoes; meanwhile, a romance blooms between Hugo and the new client. Of course, Milano is the only sane one in this melange of weirdoes. McDowell channels both Jimmy Durante and Wallace Beery in a bizarre role, Sean Penn is inexplicable, and a rough-looking Downey Jr. sports an indeterminate accent (imagine if Inspector Clouseau was from, say, Romania). Fans of eccentric comedies and offbeat characters (and Alyssa Milano) may enjoy this, while others may find it a little contrived and tedious. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone Calls This 'Quirky', August 22, 2004

By 

Scott FS (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hugo Pool (DVD)

And I guess it is.

But really, this is more affecting than off-putting as some of the reviews below have suggested.

The title of the film refers to the lovely Alyssa Milano, who owns a pool-cleaning business. Robert Downey, Jr., Malcom McDowell, Richard Lewis, Cathy Moriarty, and Patrick Dempsey also star in the film.

I found the film fresh, refreshing, and a mild surprise. You'd expect a film where one of the principal characters is dying of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) to perhaps lapse into deep maudlin territory, but it doesn't. Instead, the thread of other stories, all revolving around an effort to fill mobster Lewis' pool in the middle of a drought, balance each other out to lend a sense of lightness and humor to the enterprise.

It's a fun film to watch. Unlike other reviewers, I wasn't put off by Penn's or Downey's performances. I thought they were fine. In a movie such as this, you don't expect slavish adherence to some 'truth' as you might demand from a factual work. The movie is more of a flight of fancy, and it's enjoyable as such.

Another thing to comment on is the wonderful cinemaphotography. The lush, vibrant colors go well with the over-all tone of the movie.

Recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully Eccentric, September 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hugo Pool [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Despite a lack of some conventional plot elements, the cast of this film is remarkably charming, quirky, and enjoyable. The characters are quite memorable, and the nudity referenced in another review is actually rather discreet. Quite possibly Malcom McDowell's most endearing performance to date. Patrick Dempsey is lovable as a Lou Gehrig's disease sufferer, and Alyssa Milano is charming as the gal-in-need-of-a-break, Hugo. Quite the sleeper. END

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Alyssa Milano Vehicle, If nothing else...., January 6, 2004

By 

S. Smith "theseanman" (Modesto, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hugo Pool (DVD)

I first saw this movie when it was on cable and since my eyes (among other things) perk up when I see the lovely and much underrated Alyssa Milano, I purchased the DVD recently.

As a movie, it has its charms, although practically all the actors should be wearing "contractual obligation" t-shirts because their efforts and expressions fairly shout out "I can't believe I'm doing this either".

Where to begin? Well, Alyssa Milano shines in this movie, it is hers and her mere presence elevates every scene she is in. Cathy Moriarty does well as her mother and deserves more screen time.
Malcolm Mc Dowell does a passable job in the cartoonishly irresponsible and drug addled role of the father. It's all downhill from there, except for Patrick Dempsey in what is essentially an non-speaking role. I've always liked his work.

I would say that Sean Penn is woefully miscast and under used in his role, evoking memories of "Rain Man" as a character of no fixed purpose except to give Hugo's Father someone to talk to on the journey to get some water from the Colorado River. OH! and the blue shoes, mustn't forget them. Robert Downey Jr. Appears to have gone the method route as a completely insane and one must assume drug addicted Hollywood director. His performance might be easier to watch if it were not for his recent troubles making one think his performance is a "little too good".
Richard Lewis essentially plays himself, neuroses and all, except for being a feared mobster whose request for water to fill his 5,000 gallon pool during a drought drives the subplot containing Penn and McDowell. There are scattered colorful characters here and there that Hugo encounters on the course of her busy day that provide amusement. This DVD is hardly a classic and were it not for Ms. Milano it would be a coaster on my coffee table. She is beautiful, talented and funny and just needs a breakout role to put her over the top. Something that will make the world take notice.

In summary, I feel this is an okay DVD to rent if you want 93 minutes to kill with mild amusement. Buy it only if you're a true Alyssa fan. You won't be dissapointed either way.