Jonathan Lipnicki Is winning our hearts again 25 years after he melted them in Jerry Maguire with his new movie about fixing your life. How can that little boy be 30? Pooling to Paradise is a road trip comedy featuring four millennial strangers, each at a cross-worlds in their lives, who find unexpected connections that change their view on life. The story begins with a car-share mixup.
[EMBED_VIMEO]https://player.vimeo.com/video/531916667[/EMBED_VIMEO]
Jenny, Lynn Chen from Saving Face and Go Back To China, a Los Angeles mom, leaves her family for a blogger convention in Vegas, and accidentally chooses 'pool' on her rideshare app, placing her in a car full of strangers including struggling activist Kara, Dreama Walker, from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Gran Torino, heartbroken talent agent Sean, Jonathan Lipnicki from The Resident, and Jerry Maguire, on a quest to find Dawn, Taryn Manning, from Orange is the New Black, and Hustle and Flow, and their hipster/anarchist/shaman driver, Marc played by Jordan Carlos from First Wives Club and Broad City). Personalities clash, vulnerabilities unwind, and bonds form as they each find their own personal paradise. Full of humor, heart, pathos and a psilocybin drug trip in Death Valley, Jentis' script is a relatable millennial road trip rom-com perfect for summer.
The distraught Sean (Jonathan Lipnicki) offers to pay Marc (Jordan Carlos) to drive him to Dawn's (Taryn Manning) home in Paradise, Nevada, to find 'closure' from a bad decision he's made. Since Paradise is near Vegas and she's already missed her flight, Jenny (Lynn Chen) agrees to go along with Sean's plan. Kara (Dreama Walker) has nothing better to do, so she's in. Along the way, personal issues come out, slight misunderstandings here and there, and ultimately the crew rallies behind Sean and helps him piece his life and relationship together.
Pooling to Paradise is written and produced by Caytha Jentis known for Bad Parents and The Other F Word. The film was directed by Roxy Shih of Mira Mira fame and Angela Pedraza from Joyride served as producer. It recently opened the 2021 Ft. Myers Film Festival and won Best Feature. It was also the opening night film at the Female Eye Film Festival. The film was an official selection at the Santa Monica International Film Festival. The film will be released on several platforms including Amazon, Vudu, Comcast, Charter and more. It will also be available on DVD in Walmart's across the country.
Pooling to Paradise is more of a light drama than comedy. There are not many laugh-out-loud moments, but good life moments. The fun in the rideshare adventure is getting to know these characters. All four are meeting at a crosspoint in life. Jenny has given up a career as a TV journalist for her family. Kara is caught between what she wants in life versus her family. Sean simply screwed up his life over a bad decision. Marc just wants to chill and enjoy life. The film will debut on VOD and DVD on August 3, 2021.