The King of Staten Island
I didn’t think this would ever be a real film. A semi autobiographical film about Pete Davidson? If I’m being honest I thought that I would dislike it. I feel like Judd Apatow worked really well in the earlier part of his career but didn’t really care for Trainwreck or This Is 40. Daunting running length aside, I enjoyed this film much more than I thought it would and its good because of Pete Davidson being Pete Davidson. Who would have thought it?
The film is a fairly autobiographical look into the life of the star of the film. Pete who plays Scott, lost his father while he was on the job as a firefighter. This has caused a few issues in mental health as well as blocked him from really being an adult. He has no job, hangs out with deadbeats, can’t define his relationship, and lives with his mom. When she starts dating a man who he previously had an altercation with, Scott tries to break up the relationship. The film also stars Marisa Tomei, Bill Bur, and Bel Powley.
I won’t even lie there were parts of this were I laughed out loud. Pete Davidson acting stupid and delivering his lines was funny in this. I’m sure he is just channeling himself a lot in this and kind of bringing that flavor he brings to SNL. Its not anything special but being that this film is really about his life, I think he brings a real authenticity to a young deadbeat growing up in Staten Island of all places. I think the film could have been condensed, with a good twenty minutes being left on the cutting room floor. The supporting cast also play off each other well. Burr and Davidson have a good amount of obscene chemistry which is entertaining. I also really like Bel Powley since The Diary of a Teenage Girl , just wish there was more of her in the film.
This film is what you would expect from Judd Apatow and is definitely an improvement over his last two films. It has somber moments and dark humor (which is what Davidson brings), reminiscent of Funny People. In a time where we aren’t really getting to see an influx of new films I’ll take what I can get and this was a lot better than expected. I’ve seen a good deal of stuff recently so more to come hopefully.
7.5/10
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