King of California

The main reason for wanting to watch this movie this week is for Evan Rachel Wood to redeem herself! I DO think she's a good actress, but her new role in True Blood is awful!!! Her character as the Vampire Queen, Sophie-Anne, should be a huge presence, and instead she seems like a spoiled prep-student á la Cruel Intentions. She needs to have a Maryanne type presence, but that just isn't how it's been going down. I understand that she's been training and rehearsing for Spider Man on Broadway, but that doesn't mean that she should play her screen role as if she's on the stage. It's not really that she's overacting, but it's the way that she talks and delivers lines. It feels a bit emotionless and almost as though she's performing for a live audience rather than a camera. I hope that changes for next season, but for the time being, I'm giving her a chance to step it up by watching King of California. This movie looks like a charming little indie that's quirky and fun, and right up my alley, so we'll see...

I'm actually really looking forward to seeing Michael Douglas in this role! I don't think I'm used to seeing him play roles like this, but it just might suit him well!

Hey... me actually following up with a review! Fancy that! So... King of California... I REALLY liked it a lot! To sum it up, it's about a high school aged girl named Miranda (Wood), who's had to drop out of high school to work and pay all the bills at home. Her mom had left the family years ago, and her father, Charlie (Douglas), had been taken to a nut house after trying to hang himself a couple years back. Miranda picks Charlie up upon release, and is trying to get accustomed to life living with her father, who lacks all sense of responsibility. He is a bit of a conspiracy theororist, and thinks that there's some sort of burried treasure below the local Costco, and recruits Miranda to help, and his jazz band friend, Pepper to be the lookout man.

***SPOILERS START HERE***
I think there's something that everyone can relate to in this movie no matter what type of family you came from. Miranda has pretty much had to be the adult in her family her entire life, given her absent mother and her irresponsible father. I think that everyone, deep down inside, wants to believe in their parents, no matter how screwed up they are. We want to believe that they'll step up and play the nurturing role that we expect of them. Miranda knows how flawed her father is, but she's willing to go along with his crazy play because she really does love him, and she realizes that regardless of his take on the world, he's happy. Charlie is a total optimist! I related to his character SO much! He may not have everything completely thought out, but he's got a game plan that he believes in and is willing to see it through with a chance that he's right. He loves his daughter and only wants the best for her, even if he isn't really aware what the best thing is. He really means well in all things; there just happens to be a screw loose. It's all about the quest for happiness, and belonging in the world.

They break into Costco (and set off alarms), drill through the floor, and find a water-filled tunnel that Charlie decides to explore with scuba gear that Costco has unknowingly provided.  At the end of the film, Charlie ties up Miranda in the employee break room of Costco and tells her that when the cops inevitably catch them, she should say that he forced her into all this. Being a minor would get her off the hook of any charges. It ends up with Miranda not knowing whether he father, who went back down into the tunnel, survived. The cops never caught him, nor found a body. He did, however, leave her with a note that led her to a specific dishwasher (one that she'd been eyeing earlier, which Charlie said was unnecessary). She purchases that specific dishwasher with the credit card Charlie had given her (which SHE thought to be unnecessary), and takes it to the coast to open it with no one around. There's a golden glow that is shown on her face, but we don't see the inside of the dishwasher. I would like to believe that Charlie actually found treasure, but either way, Miranda gets a sense that her father really loves her and has always had her best interest in mind despite his imbalance. He actually payed attention to her when she showed interest in something and that meant so much to her.

I don't know if I properly conveyed my enjoyment of this film, but it really is one of the better ones that I've seen recently. It had a very limited theatrical release, but given the opportunity, I feel like it could have been another Little Miss Sunshine or Juno. It was a little indie gem that I can't recommend enough!

Overall: TOTAL thumbs up!!!