Product Description

AN UNSTABLE DAD WHO AFTER GETTING OUT OF A MENTAL INSTITUTION TRIES TO CONVINCE HIS DAUGHTER THAT THERE'S SPANISH GOLD BURIED SOMEWHERE UNDER SUBURBIA.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23637 in DVD
• Brand: FIRST LOOK HOME ENTERTAIN
• Released on: 2008-01-29
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
Michael Douglas is such a great dramatic actor (not to mention villain) that it's worth remembering what a strong comedic performer he can be (War of the Roses, Romancing the Stone). In King of California, he digs into his offbeat lighter role with relish and vigor. Yet he softens the scene-chewing with appropriate poignancy, given that he's playing a mentally ill deadbeat who's essentially left his daughter to raise herself--and him. Douglas plays Charlie, a troubled yet good-humored musician who's just been released from institutional care. Evan Rachel Wood is his wise-beyond-her-years daughter, Miranda, who pays the bills, keeps house, and even buys a car as an unlicensed 15-year-old. The film examines the bond between troubled dad and grounded teen, and it's to both actors' credit that the slight (and slightly incredulous) plot doesn't diminish the impact of their love or anguish.

Charlie's convinced a buried Spanish treasure lies beneath the local Costco (one of many companies given costar billing; others include McDonald's, Petco, Target, and Chuck E. Cheese). The plot follows Charlie's single-minded, impossible-dream journey, while the world-weary Miranda is resigned to following ("Time to get on that old bipolar pony and ride," she mutters). But along the way, dad and daughter find true ways to reconnect, and therein lies the true majesty of King of California --A.T. Hurley

Customer Reviews

A Tired Script but a Platform for the Skillful Acting of Douglas and Wood
KING OF CALIFORNIA may not break any records for innovation of thought or script but it is a tightly made little film that allows veteran actor Michael Douglas a lollipop of a wacky role to remind us that he does have comedic talent! It also gives 20-year old Evan Rachel Wood the opportunity to compete with a Pro and come out an equal - quite a feat for such a young actress. Written and directed by Mike Cahill the story does have appeal, especially since it is set in Santa Clarita, California, a rapidly developing 'hinterland' that is suffering from the effects of too rapid industrialization, changing from a picturesque remnant of California raw beauty into yet another perky little town.

Charlie (Michael Douglas) has been in and out of mental institutions for his wacky behavior. His life as a jazz bassist and entrepreneur has always veered off the map, leaving him alone with his only daughter Miranda who has survived her father's irresponsible life by keeping the old family home (in the midst of a huge housing development) with the money she makes double shifting at the local MacDonalds. When Charlie is released his focus is on discovering the gold left behind by Catholic priests in the mid 1600s, a fact he has researched while hospitalized, on the Internet, and from the journal of one of the priests. Miranda slowly buys into Charlie's madcap scheme and adventure as a gold hunter and the caper results in a bonding between father and daughter that has been teetering on the brink of disaster for years. The manner in which Charlie, Miranda, and an old ex-con friend Pepper (Willis Burks II) go after the treasure provides most of the energy of the film.

Yes, there are bits and pieces of this project that have been done many times before (and often better), but the pleasure of KING OF CALIFORNIA lies in the bravura and touching performances by Douglas and Wood. This is a pleasant excursion of a movie, worth an evening's gander. Grady Harp, February 08

A really fun movie
You can read the synapses above and I can't do any better so I'll just give my opinion.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. The wacky-father straight-laced daughter interactions are what make it so fun. I also loved Michael Douglas' character in this film. His character reminds me a lot of a castaway (both in appearance and in his quirky mannerisms). There are tinges of other movie genres in this as well but the director puts the whole project together in a good way that gives is a fresh twist and feeling.

This is a great movie for a Saturday night with a bowl of popcorn and you'll probably tell your friends about it too (I did).

Head Of Lettuce Pray For The State Of Mind, California
(First of all, full disclosure. I wanted to like this movie because the subject matter is close to my heart. I am Manic Depressive; indeed I even wrote a memoir about it, Invisible Driving, which is available right here on Amazon. And I have a daughter who struggled to deal with the havoc my manic episodes caused. So it's possible I'm being unduly critical simply because I expected more.)

Nice to see Michael Douglas playing a character that makes less than $1,000,000 a year. His performance is actually very good, although he never plays more than one note throughout the entire movie. He certainly looks deranged, and has learned how to convincingly show the whites of his eyes. With nasty beard and ridiculous clothes he has that, "I sleep in a culvert" look down pat.

Evan Rachel Wood is stellar as his daughter Miranda, a girl who has had to become an adult too quickly. Abandoned by mother, virtually abandoned by her father, Miranda has brilliantly learned how to work the system and hang onto the house while her dad cools his heels in the cracker factory. It's an interesting dynamic, the inappropriately mature teenager and the mentally ill, irresponsible parent, but the film never delivers on its potential.

The failure of King of California is due entirely to writer and first time director Mike Cahill who seems completely lost at all times. He doesn't know if he wants to be serious about mental illness or portray it as cute and quirky - he flips between showing Miranda walking in on a botched suicide attempt - dark - and dad yucking it up with power tools in Cosco - zany! More ludicrous still is the rather magical transformation of Miranda from rightfully bitter and angry to cheerfully sharing daddy's idiotic quest. Cahill is so adrift in his tiny tale that even he does not know if there is any gold at the end of Charlie's rainbow.

There isn't, literal or metaphorical.