The King Of Staten Island

Rarely does a film which on the surface appears crude and offensive leaves audiences feeling poignant and overwhelmed by the human spirit.

Scott (Pete Davidson) is a 24-year-old self-confessed bum living on Staten Island who hangs out with his dysfunctional friends drinking alcohol and smoking weed. He has no self-esteem and is a ‘going nowhere freeloader.’

Enter his mother’s (Marisa Tomei) boyfriend, a firefighter who ultimately manages to reactivate Scott’s will to progress in life after being in an emotional rut for many years owing to his father’s death.

Based on true events this dramedy is a minor gem that boasts a wonderful cast playing an assortment of likable and very zany characters. There’s an overload of silliness and funny one-liners and thankfully the comedic writing in the hysterical opening scene infiltrates the entire film.

Several scenes where Scott breaks away from his ‘misfit self’ and admits to his mother that he misses his father are disheartening.

There’s something intangibly enchanting about this film. An extremely rewarding cinematic experience for audiences who enjoy a good light-hearted human story leaves audiences with a subtle message – sometimes it may take a perfect stranger to restore some level of validity in a loved one’s life. (MMo)

★★★★