The King of Staten Island (2020)

Director: Judd Apatow

Stars: Pete Davidson, Bel Powley, Ricky Velez
Runtime: 136 minutes

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.

Performances: 6/10
Screenplay: 5/10
Editing: 5/10
Cinematography: 5/10
Score/Soundtrack: 4/10
Entertainment Factor: 6/10

Verdict: Judd Apatow's films are ones I used to enjoy in my teenage years, about 10 years ago. "The King of Staten Island", which servers as the director's return to the big screen after a 5 year hiatus, is no different. While it's definitely one of his most mature works as it follows Pete Davidson's Scott trying to come to terms with his father's passing which led him into a path of irresponsible and egotistical behavior, it's still a flick I think I would've enjoyed much more had I seen it about a decade ago.

Most of my issues come with the fact that the comedy injected never felt authentic, and directly affected the protagonist's generic growth, and as a result made it difficult to care about someone who for a good chunk of the story comes off as unlikable. At 137 minutes, the narrative is also unnecessarily long and I can't help but feel that the only purpose of the runtime is to add in as many unfitting comedic moments as possible. From a technical standpoint, and that's the case with ever Apatow project, nothing really stood out. The cinematography, and especially the color palette adopted, were very bland. Nothing interesting was done with the score, of which the presence was never even felt, either.

"The King of Staten Island" had its moments, but they were overshadowed by a generic approach to a story we've seen done better in the past. It will probably satisfy fans of Judd Apatow's work but other than that, it's not something I'm going to remember in a few weeks' time. 

FINAL GRADE: 5/10