I have never been a Pete Davidson fan, and when I've seen him on SNL in recent years, I never thought he was funny--or I thought maybe I was too old to find his comedy style appealing. I did feel sympathy for him, as I know he has dealt with depression in recent years. I think "The King of Staten Island" taps into this, and Pete's lead character, Scott, seems closely based on his own experiences. Davidson co-wrote the screenplay; Judd Apatow directs. The film is polished and features a solid cast of veteran actors (Marisa Tomei, Steve Buscemi, Bill Burr) to support the young star.
Like Davidson, Scott's father was a firefighter who died when he was a young boy. Scott seems lost and aimless; he smokes a lot of pot; has an awkward on-and-off relationship with a neighborhood girl; and he doesn't know what to do with his life, other than possibly becoming a tattoo artist. He has artistic talent. Scott resents that his widowed mother has begun seeing a divorced firefighter, and the two men clash.
"The King of Staten Island" felt very relatable and authentic, and it focuses on a subject that has been overlooked by Hollywood in recent years---the "forgotten" working- or lower-middle class white young men searching for some meaning in their lives, some direction and purpose. Many, like the main character here, turn to drugs because they really don't know what else to do.
Scott's firefighter father died in the line of work--just as Davidson's firefighter father died on 9/11. He needs a father figure, a male role model -- and our society seems to scoff at this idea these days. Staten Island is a typical middle-class/working-class, mostly white/Italian/Irish sort of community where the residents are hard-working, family-oriented people, but nothing like the glitzy, snooty hipsters a ferry ride away in Manhattan or Brooklyn. There used to be so many great American movies about people just like Scott and his family--"Working Girl," "Nobody's Fool" and "Beautiful Girls" just off the top of my head. Recently, Hollywood seems uninterested in their stories. Yet Scott's story seems universal.
The most inspiring scenes in "The King of Staten Island" take place in the firehouse where Scott's father once worked. The firefighters are white and black, male and female, and they all work and eat and laugh together as a sort of family. Here, we see the beating heart of community, and we see the value of hard work and service. Buscemi was a NYC firefighter in real life, another element that lends "The King of Staten Island" authenticity.
Davidson does a fine job in a comic/dramatic starring role as a lost, goofy, horny young guy who doesn't really know how to take the next steps to becoming a man. He may be playing himself in many ways, but his performance hits the mark. Overall, a very touching, inspiring movie that you should watch.
