Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Scott has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. He's now reached his mid-20s having achieved little, chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist that seems far out of reach. As his ambitious younger sister heads off to college, Scott is still living with his exhausted ER nurse mother and spends his days smoking weed, hanging with the guys — Oscar, Igor and Richie — and secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey. But when his mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter named Ray, it sets off a chain of events that will force Scott to grapple with his grief and take his first tentative steps toward moving forward in life.
The King of Staten Island is a semi-autobiographical Judd Apatow film built around Pete Davidson's real-life loss of his firefighter father on 9/11. Davidson delivers a surprisingly raw and naturalistic performance that elevates the material, and the supporting cast — including Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr — is strong throughout. The plot follows a familiar arrested-development arc and doesn't subvert expectations much, landing as competent but well-worn coming-of-age territory. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable, with a flat, handheld indie aesthetic that serves the story without distinguishing itself. Novelty is modest — the Staten Island setting and Davidson's personal connection give it a grounded specificity, but Apatow's episodic, shaggy structure is well-established at this point. The ending is warm and earned without being particularly surprising, offering a quietly hopeful resolution that fits the tone but doesn't linger.