The Current State of the Backyard Pool Industry: The Absurd Delights of Remembering to Live Again

Co-written by The Minor Prophets aka cast members David Amadio, Gil Damon, and Steve Kuzmick, Derek Frey’s The Current State of the Backyard Pool Industry is a laugh out loud comedy about a pool and a family who no longer has room for it. But when a Mary Poppins in a swim cap and goggles dives right in one night before they pull the plug on the poor pool, how can the family not remember how much it means to them?

The Osgoods are not having a good time. Dylan (Henry Damon) and Brooke (Eleanor Damon) are indifferent. Shana (Sharon Damon) is overburdened. Henry (Gil Damon) is lost. To top it all off, there is a $12,000 check timidly asking to be written in favour of the pool repair guy (Kuzmick). If the Osgoods say no, the broken pool gets filled in and turned into a gazebo.

Rick the pool repair guy is really a good sort. He does not push Henry to make a decision, a soothingly casual stoicism amid supply and logistical nightmares, an ailing economy, and climate crisis (though he does not believe in that one). Instead, he gives Henry time to think it over, to fill or not to fill in the pool. Inside, only Shana weighs in on the matter: fill it in, no one uses it anymore, we do not have $12,000 lying around. It is especially glum because the children do not care.

But all of that is about to change when a strange man—Will Chamieux (Amadio), brimming with whimsy and wisdom—breaks into the broken pool. And with his entrance, the narrative takes a delightedly absurd turn. The pool is transformed from a lame, abandoned pet into the heart of the family’s bond. The children are no longer above participating, Shana is no longer worried about the future, and Henry is having an unparalleled blast with his new friend. The pool is a stage and the actors are joyously, unabashedly silly—Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake makes a surprise cameo—happily breaking the fourth wall as if beyond it are fresh depths of the water. Nuts, Will Chamieux says, to think of filling in such an oasis. Though he speaks a lot like advertising copy, Mr. William Chamieux makes some fine points, something like rights needing to exist independent of exercising, but for vinyl-lined pools.

The performances are sincere and fun across the board, but especially the two older Damons and Amadio. The latter embodies the timeless magic and wonder of Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and fairy godmothers everywhere.

Despite its rough edges, The Current State of the Backyard Pool Industry is serious about its funny business. The laughs are aplenty and the catharsis thorough. The comedy is juxtaposed with both bittersweet and feel-good plot points. The inevitable bittersweetness of discovering a friend and knowing they will leave. And the warmth of rediscovering family without the weight of life pulling them down.

Watch The Current State of the Backyard Pool Industry Short Film Trailer