Forget it, Poolman. It's Chinatown.

Chris Pine plays a Los Angeles-based pool cleaner recruited to become an undercover detective in the zany trailer for Poolman, which EW can exclusively debut above. The mysterious comedy was also co-written, produced, and directed by the actor in his directorial debut.

“I hadn’t thought about directing until I happened upon this idea," Pine tells Entertainment Weekly of stepping behind the camera for the first time. "It was the idea that really wouldn’t let go of me and wouldn’t let me wiggle out of directing duties. I loved having ownership of this creation from top to bottom. The ability to fully express myself was deeply satisfying."

In the upcoming movie, which premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, Pine's eccentric Darren Barrenman spends his days tending to the pool at his apartment complex, a Zen-like ritual he performs with precision. When he's not poolside, he's usually down at City Hall, passionately fighting to make Los Angeles a better place. But as sincere and good-intentioned as he is, Barrenman isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the pool shed.

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When a mysterious femme fatale (DeWanda Wise) approaches him to help uncover corruption in the city, he enlists the help of best pals Dianne (Annette Bening) and Jack (Danny DeVito), as well as girlfriend Susan (Jennifer Jason Leigh), to crack the case.

"I love actors and there I was working with some of the best actors in our business," says Pine of the stacked cast. "It was a marvel to watch them discover and create right in front of my eyes. And whatever anxiety I may have had directing Oscar winners evaporated quite quickly under the heat of 'no money, no time.'"

A spin of the neo-noir genre — namely, Jack Nicholson's Chinatown — with a pastel-hued comedic twist, the trailer sees Pine's bohemian amateur sleuth staking out the lantern-lined streets of Los Angeles' Chinatown in search of some leads and later, submerging himself underwater. A lizard and a tree — one that's trying to tell Darren something about his past — also play into the mystery.

Poolman dives into theaters May 10.

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