It doesn’t take long for Kennedy’s summer in “Pools” to feel like a summer we’ve all experienced before. Not because it strikes at some universal truths or feelings, but because the wisps of so many familiar tropes seem to be holding her story together.
Written and directed by Sam Hayes, this indie follows Kennedy (Odessa A’zion) as she flails through summer school at a Chicago university. Still wading through the grief of her father’s death a year ago, she is in jeopardy of losing her scholarship and flunking out. To distract herself from getting her life together, she strings along a group of friends to get drunk, wander through a posh neighborhood and swim in its backyard pools.
That’s all a fine-enough structure for a coming-of-age movie, but rather than being its own entry into the genre, “Pools” instead is a green director’s hodgepodge emulation of ideas and tricks we’ve seen elsewhere. There’s the constant abuse of Wes Anderson-like quick zooms; a copy cat attempt of Anderson’s color grading; a paper-thin trauma plot; and lots and lots of montages of delinquent kids running and dancing.
Frankensteined together, those pieces create scenes embodying the spirit of a quirky music video, with a story shoehorned in. Rather than considering where or if there’s a heart to this specific film, Hayes seems more preoccupied with capturing the vague vibe of a certain kind of indie teen movie, one in which life gets real, but there’s nothing like being young, wild and free.
Pools
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters.
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