The King of Staten Island (Movie Review)

Comedy, like all other art forms, can be highly subjective. The same material can hit different people in different ways, depending on everything from their personal experiences, their beliefs and ideologies, or even how they happen to be feeling that day. So when I'd heard The King of Staten Island being labelled as "unfunny" in early reviews, I went into the movie with my expectations tempered. Which probably explains why I ended up laughing so hard during its over 2 hours runtime.

Directed by Judd Apatow, the film serves as an autobiography of sorts for star, Pete Davidson, much in the same way that 8 Mile mirrored Eminem's life prior to achieving superstardom. Pete plays Scott, a young aspiring tattoo artist with ADD. His father was a firefighter who died when he was 7, and ever since, Scott has been struggling to find a sense of purpose in life, and now spends his days hanging out with his stoner friends.

But after his younger sister goes off to college, his mum (Marisa Tomei) starts to crave companionship. This leads her to start dating Ray (Bill Burr), a man who Scott finds out is also a firefighter like his dad. Devastated by the prospect of his mum ending up with Ray, Scott is determined to do everything in his power to ensure their relationship ends badly. Except things don't exactly play out as planned.

Judd Apatow has worked on some of my favorite comedies in recent memory, but The King of Staten Island is possibly his most heartwarming one till date. It balances the heaviness of its subject matter with just the right amount of dark humor, and a lot of that can be attributed to its star. Pete Davidson really carries this movie with an effortless charisma that is both relatable and alien at the same time.

A lot of his actual DNA can be seen throughout the film, like the fact that his real-life father had been a firefighter who died during 9/11, or that he also suffers from Crohn's disease and partakes in the use of recreational drugs, or his real-life love for the music of Kid Cudi. The movie might feel a bit long as a result of exploring these things with this level of depth, but it never ceases to be captivating.

The King of Staten Island might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you like dramatic comedies or Judd Apatow movies specifically, then it is definitely worth checking out.