Film Review: The King of Staten Island
Judd Apatow Returns with the Interminable The King of Staten Island
After a brief dabble in documentaries, director Judd Apatow returns to the world of narrative features with The King of Staten Island, his first since 2015’s Trainwreck. Closely following the Apatow playbook, the film looks to imbue yet another funnyperson with a dose of heart through ribald humor. A loosely autobiographical vehicle for its star Pete Davidson, The King of Staten Island has a surprising charm to it, but its uneven pacing and bloated running time hobble its good intentions. Minor spoilers ahead…
Take a popular comedian or comedienne, add some raunch, a dash of heart, and an extra-chunky runtime; this is the winning recipe for Judd Apatow, whose works have been remixing this tried and true formula ever since his days as executive producer on the cult television series, Freaks and Geeks. An expert at plumbing the minds of man-children - stunted stoners and commitment-phobes - for morsels of pathos and character growth, Apatow has carved a niche for himself as perhaps the only bona-fide comedy hitmaker left in Hollywood. His latest film, The King of Staten Island, adheres closely to his oeuvre; this time, spinning a loosely autobiographical yarn based on comedian Pete Davidson’s life co-written by Davidson himself. King is perhaps Apatow at his most tender, amplifying the tugging of heartstrings more than the elicitation of belly-laughs. But also amplified? The film’s languid pacing, in which Apatow’s penchant for overlong narratives is more apparent than ever.
Roughly shadowing Pete Davidson’s life sans his fame as a comedian and actor, The King of Staten Island revolves around Scott Carlin (Davidson) a 24-year-old stoner-slash-slacker still living with his single mother (Marisa Tomei). Meandering through his life, Scott swims through the day-to-day and the occasional pangs of hero worship he still has for his late firefighter father (Davidson’s real-life father was a firefighter who perished on 9/11). With menial aspirations of being a (not-so-talented) tattoo artist, Davidson’s character fits the Apatow mold perfectly, spending much of his time getting high, dicking around with his drug-dealer friends, and hooking up with his friend Kelsey (Bel Powley, The Morning Show).
“A refreshing working-class charm aside, the cracking fissures of The King of Staten Island’s narrative lopsidedness reveal themselves early and often.”
Refreshing working-class charm aside, the cracking fissures of The King of Staten Island’s lopsidedness reveal themselves early and often. Coming in at a signature 136 minutes long, Apatow’s affinity for interminable pacing - especially in King’s first half - is more pronounced than ever. It’s no surprise that it runs overlong (the only Apatow film to clock in under two hours is 2005’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin), but combined with a laconic performance from Davidson and an overstuffed narrative, the film’s length is particularly palpable. With throwaway subplots with Scott’s buddies, an underdeveloped thread of sibling rivalry with his sister (Maude Apatow), and an undercooked romance, it seems like a very long time before The King of Staten Island reaches its crux - a sobering punch to Scott’s gut when his mother starts dating another fireman named Ray (Bill Burr, in the movie’s best performance), a divorced father of two. And even then, it takes another hour before the film decides to delve into any complexity or explore any growth of its characters.
As a comedy, The King of Staten Island is funny enough with a few hilarious asides that are worth more than a chuckle, but mostly, the film circumvents the fast-paced barbs of Apatow’s past films, trading in humor for darker introspection. Touching upon depression, self-harm, and the oftentimes tragic legacies of first responders, there are some interesting ideas at play, perhaps telegraphing a new direction for the veteran comedy director, even if these ideas come too little, too late. The last act eventually sees the film hit its stride, as Scott movies into the firehouse that houses Ray and his fellow firemen (Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Tatro, Domenick Lombardozzi). Easily the best - and unfortunately, shortest - part of the film, the final stretch progresses Scott’s character as he comes to grips with the repressed issues he has when it comes to his late father, surrounded by a magnetic stable of characters you just wish had more screen time.
The King of Staten Island is perhaps characteristic of Judd Apatow’s evolution as a comedy filmmaker, showcasing a willingness to venture past the guard-posts of his particular brand of humor, but its patience-testing wanderlust hamstrings its story. Pete Davidson does well enough for himself to single-handedly hold the screen, but there’s a one-note lack of “it factor” to his performance that separates himself from the likes of Steve Carrell, Seth Rogen, Amy Schumer, or Adam Sandler. It also doesn't help that Davidson is mostly used to jump from situation to situation, relationship to relationship, when the film would have best utilized him in a more focused capacity. Apatow is at his best fishing emotional journeys and the funny from fictional relationships, and The King of Staten Island eventually does reach these strengths, but it spends most of its time in search of a punchline instead.
