iRate: Davidson delivers personal performance in ‘The King of Staten Island’

By JASON GUYER
At the beginning of quarantine in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film industry brought forth releasing theater films to streaming services under the guise of home preview.

Home preview, though, has somewhat fizzled since then. The leading cause, in my opinion, is the lack of releases. The service would have done far better if “Black Widow” and “Fast 9” were released in that way.

Unfortunately, there only have been a few releases in that form and most were films that already had been seen in theaters such as “The Invisible Man,” “The Hunt” and “Onward.” While at least one of those is a good film, none of these are extremely high demand films.

High demand is the only driving force for home preview at the present moment. The $19.99 rental price is just too high for anything else.

Enter Judd Apatow.

Apatow is very well known and some of his comedies have been huge hits. A while back he announced that his next film would (mostly) forgo theaters and go to home preview.

On June 12, “The King of Staten Island” was released on home preview across most, if not all, video-on-demand services.

“The King of Staten Island” stars Pete Davidson as Scott Carlin. Scott is a 24-year-old man who has not left home and is socially underdeveloped ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. As a result, Scott has achieved little and is keen on chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist. This dream seems far out of reach as Scott is not very good and has had little practice.

When Scott’s more ambitious younger sister heads off to college, he is left still living with his mother. Scott spends his days smoking weed, hanging with his friends Oscar, Igor and Richie, along with secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey.

Then Scott’s mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter named Ray. This sets Scott off on a series of events that will force him to confront his grief and make much needed moves that will inevitably help him move forward in life.

“The King of Staten Island” is semi-autobiographical comedy-drama about Pete Davidson growing up in Staten Island.

This includes Davidson losing his father during 9/11. But some things, like the fact that Davidson was entering the world of stand up comedy not the world of tattooing in real life, wasn’t addressed.

Davidson is the star of this Apatow film and “The King of Staten Island” is written by both Apatow and Davidson.

I am torn by “The King of Staten Island” and Pete Davidson’s performance. While he is rather good at portraying Scott Carlin, I am torn because I have seen this version once before. If you watch or have already seen “Big Time Adolescence” then you can and do get the gist of Davidson’s Scott Carlin in “The King of Staten Island.” They are essentially the same character but Zeke from “Big Time Adolescence” is far more likable.

This brings me to the second reason I am torn by Pete Davidson’s performance. Scott Carlin is not likable.

He is a character that is to be pitied and one to empathize with but he treats people very poorly, even sometimes horrendously and consistently makes bad decisions.

How he treats his family is contemptible. I always have a hard time with characters that I dislike and have a hard time identifying with.

Now this is a downside in making something like “The King of Staten Island” a favorite but it is an upside in making the film watchable. This may be a tricky distinction but some of my best film experiences are not always films that I favor and rewatch over and over again.

“The King of Staten Island” will not be one I watch over and over again but as a one-time watch it is quite captivating.

Scott Carlin is a compelling character who carries a lot of baggage that those around him try to help him unload. I just don’t enjoy watching terrible people over and over again, even whether they may better themselves by the end.

In “The King of Staten Island,” there are just some things that are hard for me to wrap my head around. I mean, at one point he tattoos a 9-year-old kid.

Davidson is a pleasure to watch though. He has real command of the character and it shows especially in the scenes where he is argumentative. You can tell Davidson has a real connection to these emotions. This is a pleasure to watch and makes the experience of “The King of Staten Island” worth every minute.

The pleasure of “The King of Staten Island” was watching Scott’s family, not Scott. The family seems like really interesting and genuinely good people. Scott’s affect on the family would have been far more intriguing than the effects of Scott on Scott.

One other minor point I should make is that this Apatow film is more like “Funny People” than it is like “Pineapple Express.” It is the more sincere side of Apatow. If you are looking for the stoner comedy side of Apatow, “The King of Staten Island” is not it.

The standout performances in “The King of Staten Island” are those of Apatow’s daughter Maude Apatow and Bill Burr. Funny enough both are the characters trying the most to help Scott.

Maude plays Scott Calrin’s sister Claire and Bill Burr plays the part of the loudmouth firefighter named Ray who is dating Scott’s mother.

Burr’s Ray Bishop gets the most screen time alongside Davidson’s Scott Carlin. This is because “The King of Staten Island” mostly concentrates on their relationship and how that fatherly relationship towards another fireman helps Scott deal with his Dad’s death. This dynamic is the heart of “The King of Staten Island.” It is the reason to watch this film.

On screen, the chemistry between Burr and Davidson is top notch. They feel like a true father and son engaging in an argument. But it is when the pair get close that the film really takes off.

The last hour is just superb filmmaking. The unfortunate part for all characters involved is the first hour and fifteen is just too long and too slow.

“The King of Staten Island” opens well and the opening scene explains so much about Scott himself just in the opening five minutes but after that it takes too long to get to the meat of the film, the relationship between Scott and Ray.

Quite frankly, it takes quite a bit away from the film. Davidson makes every unneeded minute worth it though because of his connection to the character of Scott, along with Maude Apatow and Bill Burr performances.

The glue keeping the film together in that first hour is not just Davidson but is Maude Apatow’s performance as Claire as well. The dynamic between Scott and his sister Claire takes precedent in the first hour but takes a back seat in the second to the dynamic between Scott and Ray. This would have been fine if there was some resolution between the characters of Scott and Claire in the first hour of “The King of Staten Island” but the only characters that get resolution are Scott and Ray along with Scott and his girlfriend Kelsey in the second hour of the film.

I would have liked to see more resolution with Scott and his family, his sister Claire and his mother Margie. However, I get that the relationship that helps Scott the most is the one with Ray.

All in all, “The King of Staten Island” is a good but not great film. It is nowhere near Apatow’s best but it is his best in years. Again, just don’t expect stoner comedy Apatow.

The real crux is whether “The King of Staten Island” is worth the $19.99 rental fee. I do not believe that it is. Now if your itching for new movies as many may be, I know I was, then it may well be worth it.

This has been the downside all along with home preview. The films being released that way are just not worth a $19.99 one time rental fee and a $19.99 purchase fee if one likes the film.

This is just too much for one film especially without the theater experience. The theater experience is often what is paid for, not just the privilege of watching the film.

I for one will be glad when Claremont Cinema 6 opens back up. I may not leave the cinema for days.

IRATE SCORE: 3/5

Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected].