Review of King of California (2007) by Michelle C — 31 Dec 2009

The objective of Mike Cahill, who both wrote and directed this "King of California", is quite obvious. He's striving for a quirky, Indie-style comedy, and he probably figured with talent like Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood on board, and a decent script, the rest would be easy. But he only partially succeeds.

Douglas plays the certifiable insane dad, usually referred to as Charlie, while Miranda is the daughter who, due to her father's shortcomings, has been forced into responsible adulthood at the age of 17. Dad has apparently had his share of crazy episodes over the years, so when he tries to convince Miranda that there is Spanish gold buried in the local hills (as it turns out, underneath the local Costco), Miranda's response is about what you would expect. But she eventually comes around.

Most will enjoy this film. Douglas and Wood rarely disappoint, and Willis Burks is as Dad's buddy is pretty good here too. Some have criticized Wood's portrayal of Miranda as flat and boring, but I disagree. She needs to be the straight and narrow character juxtaposed next to the wild Charlie to help us appreciate their situation, and to accentuate their somewhat stressed relationship.

"King" does not compute, in my opinion, as a father-daughter bonding tale. But it has its share of precious moments as well as a handful of well-written, hilarious dialog.

However, there's still a good chance you won't like this movie. It certainly has its share of moments of weakness, as well as a handful of plot holes. But I suspect it's worth a mere 93 minutes of your life to find out.