

Darren Barrenman, an unwavering optimist and native Angeleno, spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block and fighting to make his hometown a better place to live.
Acting
DeVito and Bening somehow commit fully to this chaos.
Production
The Tahitian Tiki set design is unironically gorgeous.

Director
Chris Pine
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Pine spent years developing this passion project, apparently inspired by 1970s LA conspiracy thrillers like The Long Goodbye—just with 100% more pool noodles.
The film's catastrophic reception (that 4.4 TMDB score!) made it an instant cult curiosity about celebrity hubris—somehow fitting for a movie about delusional LA optimism.