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Movies / On DVD / King of California
King of California

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King of California (2007)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:16

Rotten:9

Average Rating:6.4/10

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.

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Dramas

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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Release:

Jan 29, 2008

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Reviews for King of California

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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The most remarkable thing about King of California is how the characters grow on you, and how their quixotic quest becomes ours.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
10/12/07
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

King of California means to be the jewel in the crown of indie-flick quirkiness, but it's really just a bauble with ambition.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
10/12/07
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
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Writer-director Mike Cahill explores Charlie's foolishness with funny-sad fondness.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
10/05/07
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
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Rambunctious and rousing from beginning to end, the hugely entertaining King of California offers Michael Douglas his best role since Traffic.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
10/05/07
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
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Intermittedly entertaining if mostly contrived.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
10/05/07
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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While the project certainly has its clever aspects, the bulk of the credit goes to Douglas.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
10/04/07
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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...Cahill wins me over with this poignant depiction of a tender father-daughter relationship.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/28/07
Walter V. Addiego
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle
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A flaky, tedious, intermittently likable fable about being crazy in a crazy world.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/28/07
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
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The treasure of the film is the unearthing of the family bond, magically played by Douglas and Wood.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
09/28/07
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
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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.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/27/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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It just falls flat every step of the way.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
09/25/07
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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The product placement is so egregious that it actually nurtures Cahill's theme of treasure lurking just beyond the crapola of American life. Unfortunately, that's also the theme of The Price Is Right.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/21/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
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The film, in its own off-center way, is worth seeing, if only because of the zealotry of the Douglas performance and the pluck of Evan Rachel Wood.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/21/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Unfortunately, first-time director Mike Cahill spends an inordinate amount of time dealing with the nuances of the hunt and caper and, even with his attempts to add in a dash of comedy, he can't redeem this aspect of the project.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
09/15/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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As a writer, Cahill is more interested in character and storytelling, and his film unfolds in clean, uncomplicated takes.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
09/14/07
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
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This weak script would not have been filmed if it hadn't been for Douglas' weakness for acting as nutty as a Snickers bar.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
09/14/07
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
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This is mighty tricky territory, and Cahill deserves major credit for keeping the story from becoming mawkish or twee.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
09/14/07
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
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[A] strange, funny and sad story.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/14/07
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
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Breezy, loose-jointed.

comment Comment
09/14/07
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
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Hard to tell what's more annoying in this empty character study of eccentrics and the suckers who love them: the braying, blurting soundtrack or Douglas himself, who can't find his way into a man tortured by dull demons.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
09/13/07
Robert Wilonsky
Robert Wilonsky
Village Voice
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