What I’ve always appreciated about writer/director Judd Apatow is that he’s able to bring a layer of depth and complexity to dumb, fun comedies. Movies such as
The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and
Trainwreck are raunchy comedies, of course, but they also have something more to say about their characters; they focus on people with cases of arrested development who struggle to mature. In many ways, Apatow’s films tap into a universal feeling we all share to some extent: an apprehension towards growing up.
Apatow’s latest film,
The King of Staten Island, is no different. The movie tells the story of Scott (Pete Davidson), the 24-year-old son of a deceased firefighter who passed away when Scott was 7. Struggling with mental health issues, Scott has been unable to move forward in life. However, everything Scott knows completely overturns when his mother, Margie (Marisa Tomei), begins dating a man (Bill Burr) for the first time in 17 years.
Davidson co-writes and co-produces this movie, and it is clear that so much of his personal story is deeply embedded in the film. It feels as if we are getting a raw and intimate look into who Davidson is; his thoughts and experiences. One of the oldest screenwriting tips in the book is to “write what you know,” and there’s a reason why it is so effective. I have always felt that some of the best art comes from a place of someone simply telling their story because what are movies if not the stories of people’s lives?
While playing a version of yourself isn’t necessarily the greatest litmus test for one’s thespianism, Davidson is fantastic in the leading role; he brings with him his dark and dry sense of humor and a willingness to scathingly call out other people’s B.S. Scott is a character who is seemingly always getting in his way; he keeps telling people he is not ready to move up in the world — to get a job or get his apartment — because he’s still trying to “figure his s*** out.” The more he repeats this mantra, the more he puts off the next stage of his life.
Bill Burr plays Margie’s new boyfriend, Ray, who also happens to be a firefighter. This is what immediately pits Scott against him, as he can’t understand why his mother would put herself in a position to potentially lose another significant other. Burr has some of the greatest lines in the movie, and brings his classic chaotic
Masshole energy to the character. As Scott spends more time with Ray, however, he begins to see different sides of him.
Putting all of the character development aside, if
The King of Staten Island wasn’t funny, it simply wouldn’t work. Luckily, this movie is hysterical. I was laughing all the way through, as I immediately tapped into the film’s style of humor. The comedy isn’t necessarily as graphic as some of Apatow’s other movies, but rather it comes from a place of finding the levity in regular human interaction.
One complaint I have been hearing about this film is that it is too long. With a 2-hour-and-16-minute runtime, it falls in line with Apatow’s habit of making comedies that are over 2 hours. The movie certainly could have been edited down, but I personally don’t mind the runtime. I enjoy hanging out in this world and spending time with these characters, so I am perfectly fine with it being as long as it is. I do, however, completely understand why someone might say it is overstuffed.
An area where
