The King of Staten Island

2020 2h 17m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,179

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Scott has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. He's now reached his mid-20s having achieved little, chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist that seems far out of reach. As his ambitious younger sister heads off to college, Scott is still living with his exhausted ER nurse mother and spends his days smoking weed, hanging with the guys — Oscar, Igor and Richie — and secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey. But when his mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter named Ray, it sets off a chain of events that will force Scott to grapple with his grief and take his first tentative steps toward moving forward in life.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Pete Davidson
Scott Carlin
Marisa Tomei
Margie Carlin
Bill Burr
Ray Bishop
Bel Powley
Kelsey
Maude Apatow
Claire Carlin
Steve Buscemi
Papa
Pamela Adlon
Gina
Action Bronson
Shot or Stabbed Victim

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Judd Apatow
Writers: Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson, Dave Sirus
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 6% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Judd Apatow, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Andrews. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Editor Brian Scott Olds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Pete Davidson and Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt9686708 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Judd Apatow directs. Robert Elswit behind the camera. Michael Andrews scores. Brian Scott Olds cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 6% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 6 years ago.
3Directed by Judd Apatow, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Michael Andrews. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Brian Scott Olds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Pete Davidson and Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt9686708 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Original score: Michael Andrews
Editing: Brian Scott Olds
Production design: Kevin Thompson
Costume design: Sarah Mae Burton
Makeup / hair: Louise McCarthy
Sound: Sean Garnhart
Stunt coordinator: Manny Siverio
Runtime: 137 min · 2h 17m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $2,200,000
Return: 6% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The King of Staten Island (2020)

Also by

Judd Apatow

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Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2020-06-21
★ 9/10
Pete Davidson has had a rough career and is viewed in a somewhat bad light, mainly due to terrible “cancel culture“ trends. If you go in wanting hate him, you will, but that defeats the heart of the film. 'The King of Staten Island' shines as both as semi-autobiographical film and another fantastic entry in Judd Apatow's ever-growing filmography. - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-king-of-staten-island-judd-apatow-and-pete-davidson-team-up-is-a-match-made-in-heaven
Manuel São Bento2020-07-01
★ 6/10
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Judd Apatow has directed/produced some hilarious pieces of cinema: Trainwreck, Bridesmaids, Superbad, Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin... He's got quite the filmography, there's no way of denying it. Therefore, his name alone is enough to grab my attention when a comedy co-written and directed by him comes along. Add Pete Davidson as a co-writer and the main star, plus a really fascinating cast with Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr, and I'm definitely interested. The King of Staten Island holds a formulaic premise (the whole "dead parent entails a bad kid who needs to learn how to be a better person" has been done to exhaustion), but is it able to elevate it in some way? First of all, the dark humor really works for me. For anyone who doesn't appreciate this type of comedy, Apatow's film might be too excessive. Tons of unrestrained jokes about the most sensitive subjects, and characters with no limits to where they can go with their wicked sense of humor. So, if you're not a fan of dark comedy, this movie might turn out to be a very unpleasant experience. However, if you have no issues with laughing at a "bad joke", this comedy might just work well enough for you to have a good time. I had really good laughs. Scott takes the "bad kid who does bad stuff" to a quite terrible (and sometimes illegal) level. He possesses all kinds of psychological issues that you can think of plus some more. He says the most depressing, sad, offensive things to anyone that crosses his path. Pete Davidson absolutely shines in this role, it really feels like he's having an outstanding amount of fun. However, his character goes through such an overlong and exaggerated route that I could neither relate to nor feel sorry for him. This will make or break the film for any viewer: your emotional connection with the protagonist. As I said in the beginning, the narrative follows a pretty cliche story that people have seen thousands of times. So, from the get-go, it's fairly easy to understand where the movie is going, what's going to change within the characters, and how it's going to end. Screenplay surprises don't come often in this genre, and even when they do, very rarely, they're able to impact the audience in a way that completely changes our perspective on the film or its characters. The King of Staten Island is a movie that tells its viewers everything they need to know in the first ten to fifteen minutes, and then there's nothing remotely new throughout. It's just way too long. A bit over two hours seeing someone trying to figure out what he's going to do with his life is not exactly the best entertainment ever. There's more than one way to try to relate to Pete Davidson's character, but I really needed to dig deep to find one. As people probably know, Davidson's father was also a firefighter who died in the 9/11 attacks, and this film clearly takes inspiration from Davidson's life. It's not his biography, but he definitely puts a lot of his own personal issues into Scott's personality. Some people even state that he's just portraying himself, and that's not that far from the truth. In my opinion, the best aspect of the movie is undoubtedly the incredibly realistic dialogues. It genuinely feels like the characters are having real conversations. The editing is so impeccable that I forgot I was watching a film for a couple of moments. The chemistry between every member of the cast is so vibrant that every single dialogue between any two characters always feels extremely lifelike. Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr are astonishing, they truly are. I wish more time was given to develop a bit more of Bel Powley's personal subplot, but I understand that she's far from being one of the most relevant characters. In the end, The King of Staten Island employs a very well-known (and a bit overused) formula that goes on for way too long, but Judd Apatow balances it with a hilariously dark sense of humor, with the help of his co-writers, Pete Davidson and Dave Sirus. Most of the comedy really works, which helped to get through the least entertaining (and predictable) portions of the narrative. Davidson shines in a role that many addressed as "he's just playing himself", but I find him incredibly engaging and captivating to watch, even though I can't quite relate to his character. The emotional attachment to the protagonist is the major component that's either going to make you love this flick or spend a couple of hours just watching someone trying to figure out what to do with his life. The realistic dialogues (elevated by perfect editing) and the cast's phenomenal chemistry just tip the scale to the positive side. I definitely recommend it, but with the small warning that if you're not a fan of dark comedy, then it's better to skip this one. Rating: B-