The King of Staten Island

Starring: Pete Davidson, Bel Powley, Ricky Velez, Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, Moises Arias, Lou Wilson, Steve Buscemi, Machine Gun Kelly, Robert Smigel, Carly Aquilino, Maude Apatow
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An aimless young man (Pete Davidson) struggles when his mother (Marisa Tomei) begins dating a firefighter (Bill Burr) years after the death of his firefighter father.

Review:

Tim: The King of Staten Island is an effective movie, a raw, semi-biographical story of Pete Davidson's life. The movie works because director Judd Apatow balances entertainment and dark humor with this achingly emotional look at life. It tells the story of a young man who's battled extremely tough times, but it tells the story with love and at least a hint of hopefulness. I enjoyed this movie.

Judd Apatow is really good at this kind of movie and it feels like an Apatow movie. It introduces us to complex, funny characters. We watch them through multiple ups and downs of life. It feels grounded in reality (since it's based on events in Davidson's life), but it's legitimately funny. It purposely doesn't look away from the broken pieces of these characters. Apatow is able to take this look at people that makes them feel flawed and believable, yet make you care about them. As the film progresses, we connect more and more with these characters.

Pete Davidson gives a strong performance in the lead. He should, since he co-wrote the script and it's based on his life. Still, you have to applaud Davidson's performance here. I was impressed how he embraced painful parts of his life for this story. Most noteworthy, his character's father is a firefighter who died while on duty. Davidson's own father tragically died in 9/11. It was riveting to watch him process his father's death through this character. There's times where it made you laugh (Knock knock... Who's there? Not your dad!") and there's many more that make the breath catch in your throat for just a minute. The story revolves around the agony his father left behind. It makes you consider deeply how important we are to those we've tied our lives to. His father was doing his job and never came home. How do you process something like that? The world would view him as a hero, but his son might have a different perspective. It undoubtedly contributed to his mental illness. That topic is discussed throughout the film, but perhaps doesn't go into quite as much detail as it could have. Still, I appreciated that subject being broached. The movie digs into these themes of familial loss and mental health, and it's a journey worth taking. Davidson brings all of this to life and it's admirable how he leveraged the pain of his real life for this movie. I might not be the biggest Davidson fan in the world, but I left this movie impressed.

The supporting cast is so good. Bel Powley adds a good supporting performance. I was a fan of her from her work on the series, The Morning Show, and she was quite strong here, too. I'm not sure she'll be a leading lady, but she makes a very strong supporting player. She worked well with Davidson and had a few nice moments herself. I'm always a fan of Marisa Tomei and appreciated her work here. It might not be remarkable, but she's enjoyable and makes the movie better. Bill Burr had a surprisingly large role and I was really impressed with his performance. He's a comedic first, but he has some real acting talent. He makes a lasting impression throughout the film. I really grew to like his character and the movie picks up whenever he's on screen. I didn't go into this movie thinking I'd leave most impressed with Bill Burr, but that is what happened. I also loved the small role of Steve Buscemi. It's a testament to his talent that he could do so much with such a small role. There's a few scenes where he subtly gives just a wonderful performance. The movie benefits greatly from his work.

The King of Staten Island is a good movie. It does have its flaws. The biggest one is that it's far, far too long at 2 hours, 16 minutes. I don't think I ever grew tired of the movie, but it's length is certainly a detriment. It needed to lose about 20-25 minutes and it could have fairly easily done that. It's good, but it drags in parts and feels slightly bloated. That's the biggest reason why I didn't like the movie more. It certainly needed to tell a more focused story.

Despite that, this was an enjoyable movie and it's one I would certainly recommend. I'm really, really glad I watched the film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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