THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND
By Quinn Marcus
(2020)
Pete Davidson in The King of Staten Island
Age: 15+
82/100: Sweet
So What’s The Story?
Scott Carlin, an unaccomplished young man whose life has been trapped in limbo ever since his firefighter dad died when he was young. His days are spent smoking weed, doing drugs, and trying to become a better tattoo artist. His dream is to open a tattoo restaurant, a remarkable place where you can eat and get a tattoo at the same time! That’s everyone’s dream, right? However, with a little push from the people that care about him the most, he might just take his first steps to live a good life.
Is It Worth Your While?
This was a real film. Now you might be thinking: ‘yes Quinn, we know its a real film because you can watch it.’ While that is accurate, that’s not exactly what I mean. Let me explain what “real” really means to me for this film. Every year, we get about 600 movies in the cinema per year. We don’t watch them all, in fact, we view a very small fraction of that number. Out of the films I see each year, there are a few gems, a few “real” films. While The King of Staten Island wasn’t exactly a diamond in the rough, its a film worth watching. For movies “real” can mean many things. A film like this could be honest, have relatable characters, scenarios, something that makes the audience more invested in the experience. The King of Staten Island has all of these things and more.
First off, let’s get into the positives. 1. Judd Apatow’s directing and co-writing was impeccable. As my first Apatow film, I was very impressed by how he managed to blend drama and outrageous moments of comedy together which can be extremely difficult to do. As I get older, I look forward to seeing more of his work. 2. The story got more and more intense as it went forward, but you just go along with it because you care so much about the characters and their decisions. Even if a scene is tough to watch emotionally, the movie finds a way to give you a good laugh after the drama stops. 3. The cast is just pretty incredible (we’ll get to that later). 4. Everything about the film feels natural and not forced. Every scene is placed specially designed to make you feel like all of this could happen in real life. Now for my negatives. 1. The film is a little too long for a comedy. I know Judd Apatow likes to make lengthy comedy movies, but I think there could have been like 15-20mins taken off the runtime. 2. A few scenes felt rushed. At times I felt like there were scenes that didn’t work entirely, that could have taken there time a little more. That’s it, overall a top-notch cast, flawless writing, and directing plus intriguing characters make Judd Apatow’s latest a long, but great dramedy worth the watch in quarantine.
How Was The Cast?
The film features expertly chosen cast members who all worked perfectly together. First of all, we have Pete Davidson as Scott Carlin. Pete Davidson is a big SNL actor having been on 123 episodes, he has also worked with Judd Apatow before on a film called Trainwreck (2015, no score yet). He is truly the star of the movie, funny, likable, and clearly expressed his commitment to the film with his performance. Next, we have Marisa Tomei, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017, 85% sweet), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019, 75% Sweet). Although I have not seen many of her films, Marisa Tomei seems to be great in everything. Her chemistry with Pete Davidson and the rest of the cast was spot on. She had some emotional scenes, all of which she did well acting in. The rest of the cast including Bill Burr, Bel Powley, and Luke David Blumm all fit right in with natural, funny, and emotional performances.
Aging ‘Staten Island’
There is a ton of drug usage in the movie, people smoke weed, vape, etc. There’s not a ton of violence. A group of friends robs a pharmacy which consequently gets one of them shot. People fight, but it’s mostly comedic. There is a lot of bad language, in fact, each scene includes at least a few swear words. There are brief discussions about sex and a couple of scenes with sex. The film has a strong message about overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals in life. The characters care for each other and help each other whenever needed.