The King of Staten Island

Synopsis: Scott has been a case of arrested development since his firefighter dad died. He spends his days smoking weed and dreaming of being a tattoo artist until events force him to grapple with his grief and take his first steps forward in life.

Movie Review:

“The King of Staten Island” was directed by Judd Apatow and is a new comedy that delivers funny and heartfelt moments with a powerful and relatable performance from Pete Davidson. What is so great about this movie is that every character feels three dimensional, even the characters that you don't like at first. Bill Burr plays Ray Bishop the man Scott's mother dates early on in the film. I loved the relationship that he forms with Scott. Marisa Tomei plays Margie Scott's mother and is wonderful. Tomei is maternal, funny and emotional. In my opinion, it's one of Marisa Tomei's best performances in years. One of the most surprising performances in the entire film was Maude Apatow who plays the sister of Scott. She proves that she has real acting talent. I applaud the comedy in the movie but, the stronger element of the movie was the drama. Scott's mental state and how he figures out what to do with his life creates the drama throughout this movie and Apatow blends the two (comedy/drama) with perfection. Bel Powley plays Kelsey, Scott’s girlfriend and they had great chemistry on screen. I had a few issues with this movie -- there was a sub-plot near the end with this one guy who needed to go to the hospital and I just felt like it went nowhere and just interrupted the main storyline. Also, I felt the movie was too long for a comedy. “The King of Staten Island” might be one of the best comedies I have seen in a long time with an honest performance from Pete Davidson, a great director and talented supporting cast. I am giving “The King of Staten Island” a 4 out of 5 stars.

Director: Judd Apatow

Cast:Pete Davidson, Bel Powley, Maude Apatow, Bill Burr, with Marisa Tomei and Stevie Buscemi

Runtime: 136 minutes