It felt weird when I went to rent The King of Staten Island, because it was the first movie in months that I was really excited to see. It made me realize just how many great movies we’ve been missing out on because of the whole coronavirus pandemic, and that’s a shame. So many movies got delayed, which is why I was really happy that The King of Staten Island held to its release date and just came out on VOD services instead. If there’s anyone out there like me that’s been dying to see some AAA movies and not just these half-rate Netflix movies, I urge you to check out The King of Staten Island.

The King of Staten Island centers around a character named Scott, a 24-year-old that’s still living with his mom because he has some severe mental problems. Scott has had a hard time pushing himself to move forward in life ever since his dad died when he was a kid. However, he starts getting pushed into moving forward when his mom starts dating the first guy she’s been with since Scott’s dad died, and to make matters the worse the guy is very similar to his father. This is one of those movies that kind of has a hard plot to explain, but the basic gist is that it’s about a mid-20s loser that’s trying to figure out his life.

I really liked the movie a lot, but if I’m being totally fair I’m biased here. The King of Staten Island is written and directed by Judd Apatow, who is one of my favorite comedic filmmakers out there. I’ve always loved his style of humor, and The King of Staten Island fits perfectly into that niche. I actually forgot how much I liked his style, since the last movie he directed was the 2015 Amy Schumer movie, Trainwreck. If you’ve ever seen that, or any of his other movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, or Funny People, then you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into, and that’s my best recommendation for whether or not you’ll like this style of humor.

The only real complaint I had with the movie is the same one that I have with most Apatow movies: its length. I don’t know what it is, but Apatow always makes really long movies, and I feel like tighter lengths usually suit comedies better. The King of Staten Island is about 2 hours and 15 minutes, and it was definitely starting to feel long at certain points. The movie does have the benefit of having its second half be better than the first, so I still enjoyed myself throughout the whole thing. But still, I feel like Apatow needs an editor or something, because his movies always end up going on a little longer than they need to.

Otherwise, though, I loved this movie. I really haven’t been too familiar with the main actor Pete Davidson, but I’ve heard some mixed things about him in recent years. I don’t know about all of that, but I really liked him in this a lot. I thought his performance suited his character really well, to the point where it felt like he was the character. And maybe he is to an extent, because the movie was partially written by Pete Davidson and has this really “personal story” feel to it. The movie ends up being dedicated to Pete’s dead father, so I’m pretty sure Apatow was helping bring to life a story that hit home for Pete Davidson.

For me, though, it was actually more the supporting cast that was the highlight for me. There is some amazing talent here, including Marisa Tomei, Steve Buscemi, and Bill Burr, who was my personal favorite part of the movie. The comedic performances alone from these actors make it worth watching, but it was actually more the heart behind the movie that made it most enjoyable to me. I didn’t laugh at this movie as much as I have with other Apatow movies, but I thought that it was because it had more emotional scenes than most of them.

Just like with any other type of comedy, The King of Staten Island might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think for people like me that are fans of the other comedies I mentioned, this will be up your alley. I don’t think this is one of Apatow’s all-time best movies, but it was definitely really good, and a welcome return for the director.

4/5