| KING OF CALIFORNIA |
 2007 - USADirector: Mike Cahill
- Reviewed by Eric
Douglas plays Charlie, a man confined to a mental institution while his 16-year-old daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) has had to fend for herself, living alone since her mother left and dropping out of school to support herself and pay off the family house. When Charlie returns home, Miranda is anything but thrilled to find her world rocked by someone who thinks he needs to take care of her. This might be interesting enough, but throw in the fact that Charlie is convinced that Spanish treasure is buried nearby, and you have a real adventure. But King of California is not an adventure in the sense that Charlie's conviction is validated as he and his daughter follow clues and encounter rival treasure hunters, like a father-daughter version of National Treasure. Instead, this journey is about trust, and although Miranda eventually joins her father on his fanciful quest, she can never be sure if she believes him or not – she only knows that this appears to be the only avenue towards a relationship with her own father, who may or may not be delusional. Douglas balances the silliness of his performance with a perfectly frustrating earnestness that makes you want to believe him no matter how ridiculous he sounds. Whether or not he eventually finds his treasure I won't give away, but the notion of hidden beauty in the bleak California landscape is effectively used to suggest there is nothing crazy about believing in something unbelievable. My only complaint about the movie was the very last scene. I found it a little too conclusive, and it brought an end to the pleasure of speculation after everything that transpires in the climax. It places too much importance on whether Charlie was right or wrong about the treasure, when the heart of the story lies in the fact that it actually doesn't matter whether the treasure exists or not. DVD NOTESThe DVD extras are pretty minimal, including a "Making Of" featurette, as well as some outtakes. |
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King of California is the kind of movie that comes out of nowhere, delights you, and disappears again. I didn't know much about it going in, except that Michael Douglas had grown a Crazy Person Beard for the role and probably expected an Oscar for it. In fact, Douglas is so good in this role that he probably does deserve an award for it, as he navigates a delicate line between humor and heartbreak. The rest of the movie is, well, the credits.
