The King of Staten Island, the latest comedy-drama from Judd Apatow, the director of many popular films, including Trainwreck and The 40-Year Old Virgin, is available to rent now on a streaming service near you. Telling the story of wannabe tattooist Scott, played by talented actor-comedian Pete Davidson, the film is a heart-warming delight and is sure to appeal to slackers and hangers-on everywhere, especially those who have resisted the move into adulthood.
Fans of Pete Davidson's twisted sense of humor will love his new movie, and they might also like to know that it's not entirely fictional. The film, which follows 24-year old Scott trying to make sense of his life after his father's death, is semi-autobiographical and hinges upon a real-life tragedy that has affected Davidson in his own life. In fact, according to the star in a recent interview with Seth Myers, he said writing the film was a "cathartic experience," and one that has made him "better as a person."
The King Of Staten Island: A Cathartic Experience
Pete Davidson is a talented actor and comedian and is perhaps most famous for his turns on the long-running comedy show Saturday Night Live. He was recently seen in The Big Lebowski spin-off movie The Jesus Rolls and one of his next projects will be the much-anticipated Suicide Squad reboot.
For now though, you can catch Davidson in The King of Staten Island, a film that has much in common with the actor's own life. He wrote the screenplay himself, and as we mentioned previously, it was a cathartic experience for the young actor.
In the film, his character Scott is struggling to get over the death of his father, a firefighter who died while on duty when he was only 7-years old. It's a moment that isn't seen on screen but the after-effects are clearly displayed within the events that happen within Scott's life, as we see him behave in wild and erratic ways, largely because of the weed he smokes to blot out the realities and painful memories that he lives with.
The death of his own father affected Pete too as, like the character he plays in the film, he was only 7-years old when his firefighter dad was killed in the line of duty during the 9/11 attack in New York.
When speaking about his semi-autobiographical screenplay in an interview with E News, he said:
"I think when you're able to share a story like this at this magnitude and with so many people, it really allowed me to be as open and honest as I could be and it helped me deal with a lot of my personal demons. This was something, one of the goals for this film was to allow me to put my past behind me and I think we were able to do that."
In his interview with ET, he spoke about his desire to help others through the screenplay he developed. He said:
"I think having to, you know, deal with that sort of thing at such a great scale really helped me heal. It really made me think that I could put this behind me now...so I really feel a lot better and I hope some other people can also relate to that."
Davidson clearly put a lot of himself into the film, as not only has he experienced the trauma of losing somebody so close, but he has faced the mental health battles that followed too. Like his character in the film, Pete suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder, an illness that developed after years suffering from depression and anxiety, conditions which he has partly attributed to the death of his dad. His character in the film also has Chron's Disease, and this is also something that affects Pete in his own life.
Still, don't be fooled into thinking The King of Staten Island is a maudlin movie. While Davidson has drawn on his own real-life experiences, the film, like the stand-up acts performed by the man himself, is also very funny. While it's not as outrageously comical as some of Apatow's earlier films, it does feature hilarious byplay between Scott and his slacker friends, and the interactions between him and comedian Bill Burr (who plays the new romantic partner of Scott's mom) are often very funny. There is a nice sideline of humor running throughout the film, even during those moments when Scott opens himself up to the feelings he has bottled up inside, and when he is faced with the consequences of his occasional erratic actions. At one such point, he attempts to tattoo the arm of a 9-year-old, which is when he faces the comedic wrath of Bill Burr, who plays the boy's dad.
The story Pete has written makes for a long film, but as you quickly warm to the character of Scott and the various oddballs that populate the movie with him, you really don't care. It's a genuinely moving film, both funny and sad, and it ends in what is possibly the most cathartic moment in the movie when Scott stands, arms raised, looking up at the Manhatten skyline where the Twin Towers used to be. In an interview with Sky News, Davidson said this was a symbol for his character, "seeing hope for the first time," and a message to "let people know that you're not alone and there is a way that you can heal."
One can only assume that this was a message that extended to himself, standing in front of the place where his own father died, but stronger and more alive to himself after acting and writing this very special movie.