The King of Staten Island - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The King of Staten Island



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Judd Apatow has been the king of biting comedy for some time now, putting out hits like 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Funny People, but faltered with his last few films (Trainwreck wasn’t a true train wreck, but it was pretty weak, and This is 40 was only OK), so I was ready for a comeback with his collaboration with SNL star Pete Davidson. First time watching The King of Staten Island I was a little put off, but by the second half the movie was really starting to jell for me. Watching it a second time gave me a slightly different perspective, as the plot was out of the way and I was able to enjoy the very carefully placed performances by friends and relatives of Apatow and Davidson meshing together on screen for what would be a rather impressively heartfelt performance.

Scott (Pete Davidson) is a wandering 24 year old man child still living with his mother Margie (Marisa Tomei) with dreams of becoming a tattoo artist and his failures to do so weighing down on his shoulders. Spending most of his time high as a kite and hanging with his friends, Scott aimlessly wanders from one moment in time to another, until he meets a 9 year old kid named Harold whom he ends up performing a partial tattoo on. This of course leads to the intervention of Harold’s father Ray (Bill Burr) who naturally is incensed than a grown man would give a 9 year old kid a tattoo. However, sparks fly between Ray and Margie, and soon Scott’s entire world is turned upside down with the impending doom of a new step father (ish) and he’s now being required to DO things.

Fiction mirrors real life as Scott’s father (like Pete Davidson) was a firefighter who died in a blaze when he was a child. This is the defining feature of Scott’s meandering attitude, because (even though he won’t admit it) that particular moment was what derailed his life. It’s affected his sleep, his relationships, his mental health, and even his career aspirations. Scott dropped out of art school after a few years, and even though he WANTS to become a tattoo artist, his own technical limitations (due to his lack of effort) has kept his dreams out of reach for him. The inclusion of Ray into his mother’s life may be a kick in the pants, but it’s not the kick that he really wants.

The King of Staten Island is not the typical Pete Davidson style of humor, as it blends his trademark sardonic wit with a realistic portrayal of his own pain from the loss of his father. Pete famously insisted to Apatow that he include his real life friends into the film to give it a flavor of authenticity, and after watching the film a couple of times, it becomes obvious that the choice was the correct one. Pete and his buddies gel flawlessly together, creating that sort of burnt out “Staten Island” flair to their personas (you have to visit places like Niagra Falls and Staten Island, New York, to understand what I mean). The pain and mental frustration that Scott (and most likely Peter to a certain extent) is palpable, and the slow paced film really doesn’t feel it’s 2 hour and 17 minute runtime. It’s strongly acted, and Pete doesn’t steal the limelight like you would expect. Bill Burr is fantastic as Ray, and Steve Buscemi’s “old timer” character is one of the highlights of the film.




Rating:

Rated R for language and drug use throughout, sexual content and some violence/bloody images




Video:

Apatow shot The King of Staten Island on actual film and the movie looks amazing. Very texture, very clean looking, but still has a nice grain structure. Some of the night time shots (such as Scott at the college party) look a bit grainy at times, but overall the image is very bright, very artifact free, and very colorful. The film has a lot of greens and blues and natural shades to the image, with darker shots taking on a more amber hue. Fine details are excellent across the board, although the spiked grain levels in a couple of the night time shots do rob the picture of SOME fine detail. All in all, a great looking film.









Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track found on the disc is a good track, with some solid sound placement, but still is basically a dialog heavy track that falls in line with countless other dramedy style mixings. The dialog is still the queen bee of this presentation, and said dialog is replicated perfectly. Locked up in the front of the room it is balanced with a few active environment situations that allow the mix to stretch into the back of the room at times. A college frat party adds in some bassy moments along with the immersion of the college night life into the surrounds. There’s also some fairly immersive moments on the train to central New York at the end, but otherwise this is a VERY front heavy mix that really only fills the rest of the channels out when the score is active. Simple, effective, and a very nice audio track, this is just not the type of movie that really stretches the limitations of the Dolby Atmos format.







Extras:

• Audio Commentary by director Judd Apatow and actor/co-writer Pete Davidson
• Alternated Endings
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Line-O-Rama
• THE KID FROM STATEN ISLAND – Pete Davidson and Judd Apatow sit down for a discussion about the movie, their experiences working together, and what it meant to film a movie inspired by Pete's life. Also hear from Pete's family, friends, and cast members who shed more light on the kid from Staten Island.
• JUDD APATOW'S PRODUCTION DIARIES – Director Judd Apatow speaks to camera, giving the daily "scoop" on set and discussing the scenes at hand.
• YOU'RE NOT MY DAD: WORKING WITH BILL BURR – Judd Apatow discusses how Bill Burr was perfect for the role of "Ray Bishop" while Bill discusses his favorite moments acting alongside Pete Davidson and the meaningful relationship that their characters form.
• MARGIE KNOWS BEST: WORKING WITH MARISA TOMEI – Judd Apatow describes the honor he had of working with Marisa Tomei who plays Pete Davidson's fictional mom "Margie." Pete, his mom Amy Davidson, and other cast and crew also describe their amazement at Marisa's ability to nail the role and the joy of having her on set.
• FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS: WORKING WITH BEL POWLEY – Bel Powley describes her friendship with Pete Davidson, getting the role of "Kelsey" in the film, and what it was like navigating her character's push and pull relationship with "Scott."
• SIBLING RIVALRY: WORKING WITH MAUDE APATOW – Maude Apatow discusses what it was like playing "Claire," a character based on Pete Davidson's real sister. Also, Pete and Judd Apatow discuss the real elements of the brother/sister relationship that are reflected in the movie.
BEST FRIENDS: WORKING WITH RICKY, MOISES, & LOU – Ricky Velez, Moises Arias, and Lou Wilson discuss their characters, the chemistry of Scott's "best friend" group, and what it was like working with each other on set. PAPA: WORKING WITH STEVE BUSCEMI – Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson, and filmmakers reveal why Steve Buscemi was the perfect man for the part of "Papa," and discuss the integral role his character plays in the film.
• FRIENDS OF FIREFIGHTERS STAND-UP BENEFIT – Watch the benefit comedy show—featuring Bill Burr, Ricky Velez, and Lynne Koplitz—that Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson hosted while filming THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND. All proceeds went to the Friends of Firefighters organization.
• SCOTT DAVIDSON TRIBUTE – Scott Davidson was a member of the FDNY and was tragically lost on September 11th, 2001. Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson and his family, plus former friends and co-workers of Scott, share stories in honor of the man they knew.
• OFFICIAL TRAILER
• WHO IS PETE DAVIDSON? – Pete Davidson's family, friends, and the filmmakers discuss their hopes of what will come from the release of The King of Staten Island, while Pete and Judd share why it was so important to Pete to make this film.
• THE FIREHOUSE – Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson discuss what it was like shooting scenes in a real firehouse and the responsibility they felt to capture the environment authentically.
• PETE'S CASTING RECS – Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson discuss how Pete's decision to cast a large group of his friends was beneficial to achieving the goal of the movie. Plus, Pete's friends discuss their relationships with Pete and their experiences working on the film.
• PETE'S 'POPPY' (GRANDPA) – Judd Apatow shares his experiences directing Pete Davidson's grandfather in his acting debut.
• VIDEO CALLS

Final Score: ​

The King of Staten Island isn’t a perfect film. It’s got it’s pacing issues. It’s got a little TOO MUCH Pete Davidson humor for it’s own good, but it is a VERY solid film by Apatow and crew. It’s not as laugh out loud funny as previous films, but more of a dark dramedy that works as a painful coming of age story AND a comedy at the same time. The humor is biting and sometimes self deprecating, but still witty and laugh out loud at times. The Blu-ray is great, with amazing video, good audio (typical of a dialog heavy film) and actually comes DECKED out with extras. A little nicety that really sealed the deal for me personally, as too many films today are devoid of good extras. Worth checking out.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Pete Davidson, Rickey Velez, Bel Powley, Bill Burr, Steve Buscemi, Marisa Tomei, Lou Wilson
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Written by: Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson, Dave Sirus
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core)
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 137 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 25th, 2020

Recommendation: Worth Checking Out

 

[JBrax]

We watched this last night and really enjoyed it. I’m not a SNL viewer so really didn’t know squat about Pete Davidson. I found him very funny and we had several lol moments. Definitely worthy of a rental.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will also see it once available on amazon prime/netflix.