Hi everybody and here I am with a new 2020 movie review! For today I will be taking a look at another film that went from releasing in theaters to being released at home last year, this one being the latest film from prolific comedy director, Judd Apatow. The man made a name for himself being involved in many financially successful and critically acclaimed comedies such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Trainwreck among others and has proven that he can make a good comedy that has plenty of laughs as well as some heart to it. In the case of The King of Staten Island, which is also something of a semi biographical take on the life of it’s star Pete Davidson, this is actually the first movie of his that I have seen in it’s entirety so I am a relative newcomer in the realm of Apatow comedies. Happy to say that I did like what I saw here as this is a pretty solid outing for both him and Davidson. So let’s go and take a trip to Staten Island and see how this deeply personal project turned out.
The movie follows a 24 year old dropout from high school named Scott Carlin. He lives on Staten Island with his mother and sister and mostly spends his days smoking marijuana, making tattoos, and hanging out with his friends. Way back when he was young his firefighter father, Stan, died on duty and it continues to deeply affect him to this day. Not to mention his many medical problems involving being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and ADHD. His family has their own concerns about his future as all he dreams about is opening up a restaurant where customers can get a tattoo while they eat and well it doesn’t seem like he’s trying to do anything to move forward in life. After a certain tattoo situation involving Scott though, his mother starts to date a guy named Ray, who is also a firefighter, and despite Ray’s attempts to be kind Scott is more than a little hesitant to trust the guy. So we get to see how Scott reacts to all this and how his relationships and character develop throughout the course of the movie.
One thing that stands out right away is the rather aimless feel of the movie. For a good while we are just following Scott in his day to day life as he isn’t sure what he wants to do with his life and is just hanging out with his friends and there isn’t really much going on until Stan comes onto the scene and Scott has to deal with having this new type of father figure in his life. While that can be considered a bit of a problem, I do think that a lot of what goes on in the first act is entertaining to watch and provides some nice comedy that is funny in a subtle, low key way and it’s actually clever given the aimlessness of Scott, so it feels like it’s trying to match the protagonist’s mindset and as Scott gradually starts to try and get a hang of life the movie becomes more focused and improves as it centers on the tough relationship between Scott and Ray and how it is developed. I really was invested in that aspect of the movie and there are plenty of strong emotional moments that feel genuine and very earned and it’s helped by a strong script that is able to feel personal which makes sense given the project’s origins. Also like I said it can be quite funny in large part due to Scott’s sarcastic remarks and the writers do a nice job in balancing both the drama and laughs. Plus I like the way certain arcs and plot threads wrapped up as they brought things to a satisfying end and the message of moving forward in life is a powerful one that is well conveyed here. I will admit though there were some issues that did hold it back a bit for me. There were times where things could get a little repetitive in terms of scenes that deal with the same kind of arguments and conflicts and I just don’t know if the movie needed to be over 2 hours long. If it had been trimmed down a bit then I think it could have been even better but it is still a well told story.
Given that the movie was shot in Staten Island it makes sense that the filmmakers would do a good job making the setting look and feel lived in as a character of it’s own and it’s good to have a talented filmmaker like Apatow at the helm. With this movie, Apatow is also able to do some solid work behind the camera. What he does really well is keep the focus on the characters and capturing the intimate moments nicely and making them feel lived in. It helps that he is also able to get very good performances from those acting onscreen. Speaking of which this is a very well acted movie on the whole, but the one who owns the show is of course Pete Davidson who is fantastic. He not only proves himself as a comedic talent with his sarcastic sense of humor and line delivery but he also turns out to capture the insecurities of Scott and the frustrations of what his going through while playing it very relaxed. The character is deeply flawed and he doesn’t always make wise choices that are best for him, yet the writers make sure not to paint him as an unlikable person and instead as someone who is unsure of what they want to do in life and is afraid of change and facing future and what happened to his dad. The fact that Davidson did base this off his real life (to what extent I am not sure) adds a lot of layers to the role and I thought he had a satisfying character arc. The other stand out is Bill Burr who is also great as the strict Ray who may have his frustrations with Scott, yet deep down he wants what’s best for him despite the conflicts they get into and that relationship was a highlight of the movie. Marisa Tomei is also excellent as Scott’s concerned mother who just wants him to find something to do in his life as she is sympathetic and she has great interactions with Ray and I really liked how these end up between her and Scott. I do wish that some of Scott’s other relationships like with his on and off girlfriend, Kelsey (Bel Powley), and sister, Claire (Maude Apatow), were looked at a bit more as while there are strong moments and I thought the on and off nature between Scott and Claire as well as he ambitious intentions to improve Staten Island were interesting, a lot of these scenes did get repetitive as it involved him constantly arguing with them. I understand the point that was getting across I just wish there was more to it. Some of the other players like Scott’s friends and Bill’s fellow firefighters (including former real life firefighter, Steve Buscemi, who is a scene stealer here) get plenty of entertaining moments and serve their roles well in adding to Scott’s story.
All in all, The King of Staten Island is a solid character study that tells it’s story in an interesting way, is able to have plenty of effective emotion that feels earned, is well made, has strong character work, and great performances especially from it’s lead. It may run a little too long, things do get a little repetitive at times, and I wish certain relationships were fleshed out more but that doesn’t stop it from being a darn good movie and a strong outing for Judd Apatow as well as a great showcase for Pete Davidson. This may not be for everyone but fans of the director and star should be more than satisfied and I for one tend to really enjoy these types of character driven movies and this was a good one indeed.
Rating: B
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