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Eric Atreides

The King of Staten Island (2020)

The King of Staten Island (2020)  

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  1. 1. What'd You Think?



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Best movie of the year so far imo. Didn't expect to watch an Apatow film and a Lee film within the same day and enjoy the Apatow film more. Funniest movies of the year and equally heartfelt. Davidson is actually really good and Burr gave a scene stealing performance that could honestly get him an Oscar nom (especially since it's gonna be a weak race this year). Also really liked that this actually looks like a movie and Apatow didn't go for his usual stiff, over-lit sitcom look of his previous films.

 

Edited by lorddemaxus
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Very much what we expect from a Judd Apatow movie: a heartfelt comedy that runs way too long. What could've been a great movie with judicious editing down to 100 minutes becomes less effective in the form of a sprawling 137 minute one. A trend that makes his movies more frustrating than they should be. But there's a ton to like here, and it also accomplishes the seemingly tough task of making a good case for Pete Davidson receiving leading man status. Usually don't care for his work on SNL, but he's a surprisingly compelling presence here in a role that draws from some of his personal experiences. He's also surrounded by a strong cast, with a great Bill Burr as the movie's other standout. This will likely find a more appreciative audience debuting at home than it would have in theaters. B

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5 hours ago, lorddemaxus said:

I disagree. This is a great film to watch with a crowd.

I mean this was good and it has plenty of hilarious moments but I doubt it would've been the movie that saved comedies from going extinct at the multiplex or anything. Probably would've made something like $60-70M at most. Its long running time makes it easier viewing in a home setting than it would have in a theatrical one IMO.

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5 hours ago, filmlover said:

I mean this was good and it has plenty of hilarious moments but I doubt it would've been the movie that saved comedies from going extinct at the multiplex or anything. Probably would've made something like $60-70M at most. Its long running time makes it easier viewing in a home setting than it would have in a theatrical one IMO.

Honestly, I really didn't feel the runtime. Felt much shorter than other recent Universal R-rated comedies eventhough it has a longer runtime.

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The King of Staten Island, Judd Apatow’s latest spotlight on an up-and-coming comedian, is a long but rewarding comedy that rewards viewers’ patience with many solid laughs and some well-pitched, heartfelt emotional moments. Despite the hit-or-miss nature of much of his material on Saturday Night Live, Pete Davidson’s career trajectory thus far, background, and very public struggles to balance heartbreak with humor always made for an intriguing idea for a semi-autobiographical film on paper; in execution, it works largely because it leans into all the difficult parts of its protagonist’s life and finds both the comedy and the pathos in it. In the title role, Davidson gives a revelatory performance. Though it’s not quite as impressive as Amy Schumer’s big screen breakout in Apatow’s previous film, Trainwreck, it’s impressive work where Davidson’s comedic instincts are strong, and he is also able to make viewers feel for Scott in his past traumas. Scott is a loser with few actionable ambitions, but Davidson imbues him with enough humanity that it’s easy to root for him to find direction in his life, even when he’s being a jerk to his mother’s new beau (Bill Burr in a surprisingly moving performance) or hanging out with deadbeat friends who enable his apathy and aimlessness. The deeper the narrative moves into Scott’s growth through confronting the long-standing trauma of his father’s death 17 years earlier, the more Davidson shines. As is typical of Apatow’s films, the supporting cast is stacked with comedic talent, and they each get moments to shine. The film is overlong at 137 minutes and has such a tendency to meander that it’s tough not to think “Oh yeah, they were part of this film” when characters and plotlines that had been absent for significant stretches of time suddenly return. However, almost every scene works well enough that these issues are fairly easy to forgive. Apatow regained enough goodwill from Trainwreck that he could have coasted with less challenging fare, but it’s great to see him take a chance on a Pete Davidson story and come out of it with such an unconventional yet effective comedy.

 

B+

 

Stray Thoughts:
- I hope I'm not the only one who thought of fellow "Marisa Tomei's son is an arrested development case" dramedy Cyrus while watching this. Cyrus is a little more effective, but they're both really good.

 

- Though I liked Trainwreck better, this is Apatow's most thematically interesting movie since Funny People. I know Funny People isn't for everyone, and I'll even freely admit that it's not as effective once they go to the ex's house, but both of these films do a really good job of examining how dark humor and self-deprecation serve as coping mechanisms for their fundamentally sad protagonists. It's a ballsy move for any studio comedy, and especially ballsy for Apatow to do *twice,* especially when it resulted in his least financially successful film the first time around.

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