*No major spoilers are in this review. Mostly just me talking about Pete Davidson’s background, my love for comedy and comedians, and the great cameos in this movie.
If you’re a fan of Pete Davidson, you will be a fan of this movie. If you aren’t a fan, or don’y know who the comic is, you will still like this movie.
Pete Davison was born and raised in State Island. I’m not sure he’s ever actually lived anywhere else. His current residence includes his mom’s basement, surrounded by arcade games and probably as much marijuana as Seth Rogen. When Pete was seven, his father passed away. He was a firefighter who lost his life in the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. Pete has never held back from discussing his father and how he lost his life. Pete uses comedy to cope with the matter and I believe he’ll always hold New York City close to his heart because of this.
Pete Started doing standup at the age of of 16, which is incredibly rare, and only a few years later found himself on television. Davidson first appeared on national television on MTV’s Failosophy and then made his follow-up appearance on the channel’s Guy Code. Davidson them performed stand-up on Comedy Central’s Gotham Live. He then made the transition to improv on Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out. The following year, he became one of the youngest ever cast members on Saturday Night Live and has been on the show ever since. He is known for providing a younger voice on Weekend Update and provides some of the more popular pre-taped musical segments on the show.
When I first saw the trailer for The King of Staten Island I was excited for quite a few reasons. I love Pete Davidson. I have been following Pete Davison for a while now. And Judd Apatow co-wrote and co-produced the movie and directed it. You can’t go wrong with the man behind the underrated Freaks and Geeks and the wildy popular and well-received Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old-Virin, and Trainwreck.
The movie focus on Scott, a 24-year-old fuck up who lives with his mother and sister. He is a high school drop out who aspires to be a tattoo artist, but can’t muster up the energy to start his career in the art. Scott spends most of his days fucking around with his friends, one played by Moises Arias. Arias got his start as Rico on Hannah Montanna and has since transitioned into one of the best, and one of my favorite, indie film actors.
Scott also is still hurting over the fact that his father, a firefighter, passed away when he was a kid falling through the roof of a hotel he responded to. Scott tells his younger sister she is lucky she never got to know her father, as he passed away when she was a child. Davidson has a younger sister in real life and I imagine this has been an actual conversation between the siblings.
Marisa Tomei, the breakout star of My Cousin Vinny, plays Davidson’s mother in the film. Like Davidson’s real life mother, Tomei is employed as a nurse in the film. Arpatow’s daugther, Maude, plays Pete’s brother in the film who is hesitant to leave for college because she feels the need to take care of her brother.
Boston’s Bill Burr plays Tomei’s love interest in the film and works as a firefighter. Steve Buscemi works at the same firehouse and I absolutely loved seeing him in this film. Buscemi was a volunteer firefighter and actually assisted the FDNY after the 9/11 attacks. Jimmy Tatro, one of my new favorite comedic actors, also works at the firehouse. He is in 22 Jump Street, as well as Tacoma FD and Modern Family, where he also played firefighters.
Comedic cameos include Rich Vos, Bonnie McFarlane, Jessica Kirkson, Mike Vecchione, and the brilliant mind behind so many famous SNL moments: Robert Smigel. Musical cameos include Machine Gun Kelly and Action Bronson in a hilarious and random, yet necessary role.
I gave the movie 5/5 pieces of cheese. It is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. I would say there really aren’t flaws to this movie. It’s extremely funny. There are some great laugh-out-loud moments. The movie has a ton of heart. I would place this film in the dramedy category. Like I said, if you are a fan of Pete Davidson – you will love this movie. You will learn new things about him. More things will make sense. If you don’t know Pete Davison, or don’t like Pete Davison, you will also love this movie. If you are a fan of comedy, comedians, New York City, you will love this movie. Basically, you’ll love this movie.
Feel free to comment and let us know your thoughts on the movie!
