Premise: Pete Davidson stretches himself to play an aimless, tattooed Staten Islander who can't stop screwing up long enough to get his life together.
I'm in the top tier of people who appreciate Judd Apatow's work. I credit him for so much of the media that I absorb and enjoy. He's tied to some of the best and most influential TV of the 90s and early 2000s. Then, his film work, especially as a producer, marks an entire movement in Hollywood by its embrace of a certain style of comedy and introduction (or reintroduction) of numerous stars. A decade ago, I'd probably even list him among my favorite directors. It was justifiable then. The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up were great. Funny People, despite some flaws, was a nice move in a more dramatic direction. I've cooled on him some in recent years though, partly by Apatow's own design. He's turned into more of a collaborator, helping others make it than putting himself in the limelight. Other than This Is 40, which was a little too insular*, his directorial work has been about other people. Amy Schumer gets most of the credit as the star and writer of Trainwreck. The King of Staten Island is most associated with Pete Davidson. The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling is about honoring Apatow's departed mentor. He helped get other people's shows off the ground from Girls (Lena Dunham) to Crashing (Pete Holmes).
*This Is 40 is the equivalent of the observational stand-up comedian whose jokes all become about how strange it is to have a butler and be recognized all the time. While the material may be true and hilarious, it's harder for people to get past the surface level details to the see universal comment. It just sounds like a rich and famous person complaining about being rich and famous.
In other words, the fact that I didn't race to see The King of Staten Island right away says more about my indifference to Pete Davidson than any love lost for Judd Apatow. This is very recognizably a Judd Apatow movie though, for better and worse. It's about a man-child in arrested development. There's that blend of scripting and improv his movies are famous for*. It also meanders, goes on too long, and loses its point a couple times.
*Not improvised in the Christopher Guest sense. There's a full script written out. A good script, probably that's plenty funny. Apatow doesn't get too precious about the words of the script though and encourages improv to keep the jokes and reactions fresh.
It's not a surprise that he gets good performances from the whole cast. Pete Davidson (also a cowriter) is able to design his character, Scott, a lot after himself. Instead of a comedian, he's an aspiring tattoo artist, but the rest is pretty much the same (as his public persona, at least). He's got a group of stoner friends, including Moises Arias and Lou Wilson, who fit the bill. Marisa Tomei plays Davidson's mom, and it not that far from a 30 years later reimagination of Mona Lisa Vito. Of course, Apatow casts one of his kids (Maude Apatow) to play Davidson's sister who goes off to college. While that is nepotism, Maude has grown into a fine actress over the years and is now old enough to play one of the people frustrated by this man-child in her life. Bel Powley plays the love interest, and she continues her competition with Juno Temple as "best British actress who keeps getting cast in working class ingenue roles". Then there's Bill Burr playing fireman Bill Burr. That's not a complaint. He looks good with a thick mustache, and his comedy persona is pretty perfect for a character who talks with authority but is actually desperate when you look closer.
This movie absolutely takes on too much. Somewhere around the failed pharmacy robbery, I wondered what this movie was actually trying to be about. It spends a long time establishing just how unmotivated Davidson is except for his love of tattoos. It then turns into a rivalry between him and Burr, his mom's new boyfriend. Eventually, it becomes about Davidson working at the fire station and learning about his father who was a fireman and died when he was young*. And it occasionally checks in on his relationships with his friends and Bel Powley. Asking a Judd Apatow movie to be shorter and more focused is foolish. All of his movies except The 40-Year-Old Virgin (1h56m) have been over two hours. The length doesn't matter as much when it's Trainwreck or Knocked Up: packed with jokes. The King of Staten Island is funny but willing to go decent stretches without jokes. That's where it drags.
*Davidson's dad was a fireman who died in service during 9/11.
I did really appreciate where the movie ended. It sort of snuck up on me. I figured it would spell out the ways that he's grown up a lot more, but the simple act of supporting Bel Powley as she takes her civil service exam is actually enough. Not everything in his life is fixed, however he does finally get that his relationships can't be all one-sided.
It's not a perfect movie. I don't think Apatow has as much fun now as he did with the Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel group back in the day. It's still good though. I certainly want to see how Pete Davidson evolves over time. Is he actually a leading man, or does this only work because it's so designed for him? I hope the point of the movie wasn't to convince me that Staten Island isn't so bad, because I still have no desire to go there.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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