Early in the new Judd Apatow-directed The King of Staten Island, there's a scene in which the main character, Scott Carlin (SNL's Pete Davidson), explains to his oldest friend Kelsey (standout Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl) why he doesn't think it's a good idea they date, even though they're sleeping together secretly and regularly. Of course, we assume that's because he's a selfish, immature guy who doesn't want to get tied up. But in the first of many very personal revelations about Scott, he admits he is afraid if they get too close to her that his struggles with mental illness will scare her away. "I 'm scared of myself," he says, and at that moment I realized this movie was something else.
The truth is, if this film had been almost identical to just about any of the other works by Apatow (such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, or Trainwreck), I would probably have been fine with that as well. But in that moment it becomes apparent that big laughs aren't really the primary target of screenwriters Apatow, Davidson and former SNL writer Dave Sirus. They want us to feel something when we least expect it, and that is exactly what is happening.
Staten Island starts off a little like Trainwreck, in that it borrows heavily from the life of its lead actor (Amy Schumer in that movie, Davidson here), but then diverges considerably to tell a more open, cinematic tale. By all standards, the 20-something Scott, though one with hopes, is quite a loser. He still lives with his ER nurse mother Margie (Marisa Tomei 's fantastic turn), but aspires to become a tattoo artist (actually, his dream is to own a combination of tattoo parlor and restaurant, which everyone agrees is just gross and unhealthy), And his younger sister Claire (Maude Apatow, the filmmaker's daughter) is about to leave the nest to go to college (only 45 minutes away, but Margie is acting like she is crossing the country).
Commonly known about Davidson's backstory is that his father was a firefighter who died on 9/11, and although Scott's father's details have been changed for the film, he remains a firefighter, and the event has forever changed Scott's course of life — and outlook on life. His dad worshipped the earth but after his death Scott never understood why he should have sacrificed himself to save strangers instead of having a better job and seeing his children grow up. It's a problem that will affect most of the movie before it's dealt with later in the movie in a poignant scene.
Another great moment is a talk that Claire and Scott have the night before she leaves for school, and it's maybe the biggest moment of the movie. They fight all the time, the way siblings often do, but the love expressed in that little scene is huge and important for understanding that Scott sees his life as a series of abandonments. These feelings get worse when Margie begins dating shortly after Claire leaves, maybe trying to fill the huge gap in her life as her son doesn't give her exactly the emotional support and understanding that Claire did. Ray (comedian Bill Burr), Margie wants to set up another firefighter. Who had a run-in with Scott early on in the movie, so naturally Scott isn't thrilled with the arrangement even if he's backed up by his mother.
Much of The King of Staten Island is split between Scott spending time and smoking weeds with his childhood buddies — Oscar (Ricky Velez), Igor (Moises Arias) and Richie (Lou Wilson), each of whom gets their own unique quirks (as well as a slightly different relationship with Scott); and Scott trying to form some kind of friendship with Ray in an effort to please his mother. But, of course, Scott feels like he's being pushed out again, and he's trying to break the relationship with Scott's ex-wife Gina (Pamela Adlon, the "Better Things" of FX), who splits their two children's custody. Scott also walks the young children to and from school as a favor to Ray, but in the process he tries to get some dirt on the boyfriend of his mom — a scheme that is badly backfired.
In around two-and-a-quarter hours, the King of Staten Island clocks, which sounds ridiculous, but I confess I could have seen this cast go on for days. Davidson proved himself a charming and unexpectedly layered actor in Big Time Adolescence earlier this year, and that winning combination is only strengthened under the guidance of Apatow, When Scott is forced to face how his loyalty to his father has left him incapable of going on. Under the guidance of Ray, he ends up spending time at his father's old fire station and meeting some guys who worked with him, Including the veteran firefighter Papa (Steve Buscemi) and several other characters played by Davidson's real-life father's former colleagues. Buscemi flips Scott around in just a few crucial moments on the notion that firefighters shouldn't have families and it's inspiring and devastating.
Over the course of the final act of the film, by those closest to him, Scott is lovingly called upon by his kids, and although it stings in the moment, he is forced into something that resembles maturity and continues to succeed. Based on his SNL slacker persona, One wouldn't expect Pete Davidson to be at the center of a comedy that deals with childhood trauma and the resulting emotional turmoil. But with The King of Staten Island, it's like Apatow looked at the man-child persona he helped shape in his earlier movies and wondered seriously how those guys got that way in the first place. Sometimes, people don't grow up for a reason, and it's not always because they don't feel like it. While the film in its introspection does not want to be a complete downer, it does provide us with plenty of food for thought while at the same time warming our hearts.
