Episode 40 - The King of Staten Island

What's going on people! So we had a very hot day when we recorded this episode, so it may come off as a little slow and slightly more philosophical than one might want. But guys! We finally have a new movie to talk about! And one from a well known director and star! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, from the minds of Judd Apatow & Pete Davidson, The King of Staten Island!!! The King of Staten Island follows Scott, played by Davidson, a 24 year old high school and college drop-out who spends his days smoking weed with his friends and pretty much nothing else. Still haunted by his father's death in a fire, as well as having ADHD and Crohn's Disease. Despite him having stagnated, life is moving on without him. His sister (Maude Apatow) is going to college, his friend with benefits (Bel Powley) wants something more serious and is tired of the regular friends only fling, and his mom (Marisa Tomei) has finally started dating a new man (Bill Burr), who also happens to be a firefighter. It's a typical Apatow fare, guy who's lacking one thing that prevents him from truly maturing finally is forced to when everything around him starts changing, but this movie was pretty honest and genuine. This could have so easily fallen into a lot of cheap comedic territories, but because this is clearly a labor of love, it shows. Pete Davidson opens up fully here, giving us a raw and empathetic performance disguised as yet another man-child, something that cinema has had far to much fun embellishing. But besides talking about Davidson's performance, we also talk about how this script truly does elevate this material, whether this can spell out a new future for comedy, as well as Apatow as a director/producer and how his pull has really influenced comedy for the last 20 years. Enjoy!