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King of California (2007)
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Reviews Counted:66
Fresh:42
Rotten:24
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: A quirky and often touching comedy about a mature teenager and her manic depressive father, King of California is a charming tale of familial relations and treasure hunting.
Theatrical Release:Sep 14, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: Michael Douglas gives a bravura performance in writer-director Mike Cahill's feature-length debut, KING OF CALIFORNIA. Douglas stars as Charlie, a troubled musician who has just been released from... Michael Douglas gives a bravura performance in writer-director Mike Cahill's feature-length debut, KING OF CALIFORNIA. Douglas stars as Charlie, a troubled musician who has just been released from a mental hospital. He returns home to live with his 16-year-old daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), who is not exactly thrilled to have him back. Miranda has been forced to quit school and get a job in order to support herself and hold on to her beat-up old car and the family house, which is right in the middle of a new development--but she has refused to sell out. Instead, she works extra shifts at McDonald's and has no social life. But her father--still suffering from mental illness--insists that she join him on a wild adventure in search of supposedly long-buried treasure, and soon the two of them are combing through California, facing danger as Charlie leads them on a crazy quest that takes them through major chain stores and restaurants. Wood (THIRTEEN) is excellent as Miranda, walking that fine line between wanting to believe in her father and feeling he should be hospitalized again--but she never stops loving him, even against her better judgment. Bushy-haired and wild-eyed, Douglas shines every second he's onscreen, dreaming the impossible dream. The outstanding soundtrack features songs by John Coltrane, Seals and Crofts, Bud Powell, Fats Waller, Yma Sumac, and Billy Bragg and Wilco. [More]
Starring: Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood
Starring: Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood
Director: Mike Cahill
Director: Mike Cahill
Screenwriter: Mike Cahill
Producer: Michael London, Alexander Payne, Avi Lerner, Randall Emmett
Composer: David Robbins
Studio: First Look
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Reviews for King of California
Moviegoers will delight in excavating the strata of motifs in King of California.
Michael Douglas clearly enjoys himself while Evan Rachel Wood looks appropriately exasperated throughout King of California. My sympathies were with her.
Writer-director Mike Cahill explores Charlie's foolishness with funny-sad fondness.
The treasure of the film is the unearthing of the family bond, magically played by Douglas and Wood.
This movie requires a little patience to appreciate it, but for me, Evan Rachel Wood (and the final plan) made this worth the wait.
'The King of California' is an easily-entertaining film that features two bravura performances. Douglas plays the character of the loony treasure-hunter Charlie with zest, passion, comedy and, well, hyperactivity - its Jack Colton post-drugs, if you will
...one of those efforts that's destined to improve on subsequent viewings.
There's so little authenticity between them, it destroys the story's most crucial element: the love between father and daughter. And finding the gold becomes our only reason to watch.
This is mighty tricky territory, and Cahill deserves major credit for keeping the story from becoming mawkish or twee.
As an adventure-obsessed father released from asylum, Michael Douglas renders a wonderfullly eccentric and manic performance in a feature that should serve as a companion piece to Wonder Boys, his previous high as actor.
It's barely distinguishable from the many other independent films about eccentric people who do odd things, but hey, it ain't bad.
However much Douglas might have savored making it, this King deserves no royal welcome.
A vacuous and boring tale about an outrageous quest for lost treasure.
King of California gets an 'A' for effort -- as well as for its fine lead performances -- but the movie just never rises above a trying premise and an unconvincing narrative.
Good things happen when Michael Douglas exposes his edges to the elements and smudges his screen persona with thick dollops of shadow.
The success of those sequences only underline how good the film might have been if it wasn't so busy trying to be cute.
Latest News for King of California
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