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King of California
Directed by: Mike Cahill Starring: Evan Rachel Wood Genre: Drama/Comedy/ Independent Run Time: 93 min. Release Date: September 2007 On The Web: Official Site Teaser: Movie Trailer Reviewed by Byron Merritt |
In the vein of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE in which we have a few high-caliber actors playing roles in a small budget film, KING OF CALIFORNIA is funny and quirky enough to make for an evening of enjoyable film watching. Although I’d give higher praise to Little Miss Sunshine, King of California deserves its own rays. Michael Douglas got top billing, but it is really Evan Rachel Wood (DOWN IN THE VALLEY) who’s the star. We begin and end the film with her, and it is her performance as the teenage Miranda that strikes the strongest chord. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking anything away from Douglas’ manic performance; he did it very well, and it was nice to see him in a not-so-serious role. But Wood pulls off an incredibly strong spot alongside Douglas, and she did it effortlessly. We have, however, seen this type of set-up before: reversing the roles of responsible adult to that of the child while the irresponsible one is the parent. It’s an old Hollywood plot but one that can be used to great advantage if done right. And relative unknown writer/director Mike Cahill (best known for his visual effects work on the CRITTERCAM TV series) does a fine job in giving us a story of touching simplicity and wacky humor. The story starts out with Miranda (Wood) picking up her father Charlie (Douglas) at a mental hospital during his release. Having lived alone for quite some time, Miranda is a self-motivated woman, keeping up the family home on her own. Her mother (Charlie’s ex) also ran away from home during one of Charlie’s early mental meltdowns and left Miranda to fend for herself. Hoping her father might be getting better, any possibility of normalcy is swept aside when Charlie immediately starts searching for a lost 17th century treasure supposedly buried in their now booming community of Santa Clarita, California. Grudgingly being dragged along during late night excursions (to check star alignments) and heat-of-the-day golf course spots, Miranda slowly comes to accept that this might be a good way to bond with her delusional father. But then the discovery that the lost treasure is hidden beneath the concrete foundation of a newly installed Costco seems to put a halt to their plans; but Charlie has no intentions of letting anything get in his way. Miranda must come to grips with her father’s need to connect with something in his life; something that makes his life have meaning. It is Charlie’s (and Miranda’s) slow realization that this meaning is each other, and this gives the film all of its successful, emotional heft. Whether or not Charlie found the treasure and gave it to Miranda is irrelevant (as we never see the treasure ...even though it is heavily alluded to). Perhaps the gold wasn’t there, perhaps it was. Or maybe — just maybe — the gold resides elsewhere, meaning that a connection between father and daughter matters more than any metal.
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Image from King of California
DVD cost: $15.99 Purchase: Tower.com Film Review Stew Favorite? No. Stew Poo-Poo? No. Newsworthy: They actually did film in a Costco, on a working schedule between the hours of 9:00 pm and 9:00 am. Since they were there for such long hours, members of the crew were trying clothes on and looking through the other products so Costco kept a cash register open all night long so that anyone could purchase things. Movie Quote: "Breaking and entering makes everything taste... different. Makes it taste, um, livelier."
Other Actors/Actresses from King of California
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Images from King of California
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