King of California (2007)
Jamal's Rating: 4 stars
Netflix Average Rating: 3.3 stars
Evan Rachel Wood plays straight man to Michael Douglas' madman in this father-daughter relationship tale about an old man who refuses to grow up, and his daughter who must decide how much she will sacrifice in supporting his quest for a treasure he believes is buried beneath their town. The movie takes us through all their issues, such as Michael Douglas being a somewhat absent father who threw parties when their mother left them, but we never feel too bogged down by their backstory, and the film is actually pretty light. When a female cop issues him a warning for trespassing and Douglas changes his game plan full stop to hit on the lady, he does it with such verve that we begin to see where he is in life, a man at the end of his rope who refuses to let the world stop him from being happy. Wood, in an equally remarkable performance, sighs and roles her eyes at her dad's immature ways, but warms up eventually and begins to humor him. Here's a sentimental film, good-humored, with a quirky performance by Michael Douglas, and outstanding direction that never draws attention to itself. The ending is exciting, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Special note: right before the 44 minute mark, listen for a child's laughter. Have you ever heard that same laugh before? If not then you haven't seen enough movies.
I know exactly what laugh you're talking about. Heard it enough times to have it ingrained in my brain. First heard it on Microsoft Bob fifteen years ago. It hasn't stopped since. These people need to stop pulling from the same audio library. How hard is it to get a recording of children laughing?
ReplyDeleteIt's such a satisfying little snippet though. I could listen to it over and over again. It's like the Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon of two-second audio clips.
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