Chris Pine is promoting his directorial debut film, Poolman, which opens this weekend. Sarah reviewed the film at TIFF 2023 and she wasn’t impressed, which lines up with most of the other reviews.
On the Happy Sad Confused podcast this week, Chris talked about having to come to terms with the fact that, well, his passion project was panned. He said that it was “a real come-to-Jesus moment for me, in terms of seeing how resilient I am” and that he chose to “double down on joy” instead. In other words, he accepted that a lot of people didn’t like his work. At the same time, that doesn’t mean he can’t love his own work …and, well, that’s really beautiful. Because it’s not defensive, it’s not delusion, it’s acceptance without compromise. It’s OK for others to have an opinion, he can’t change the opinion, but he also doesn’t have to change his opinion about what he made and the experience of making it.
So he is out here happily promoting it, seen here arriving at Jimmy Kimmel in the Outfit of the Week, a shorts set that looks like pyjamas over a pair of shoes that look like slippers, under a trench coat that looks kinda like a robe. He changed into a hippie suit for the actual show and you can see that in the interview below, but it’s all the same Poolman energy. Pine Poolman energy, because at this point, he and this aesthetic of this character are one and the same.
Kimmel actually asks him about his clothes and his whole presentation. Sure, part of it has to do with marketing the movie but when you listen to him talk and see Chris’s personality come out, these outfits really just are an extension of him. The fits are not a stunt. This man really is committed to the short shorts and the leg flex, and it doesn’t seem like once his Poolman era is over he’s going to put them away. This is the Chris who’s here to stay.
