Pete Davidson struggles with mental health in autobiographical 'King of Staten Island'
Star TribuneJun 11, 2020
The opening scene of “The King of Staten Island” sends a signal to anyone expecting raucous laughs: It depicts a suicide attempt.
The autobiographical comedy/drama stars
Davidson has been candid about his mental health struggles, which are the main interest of “Staten Island.” Scott is unable to think past whatever he’s doing at the moment -- standing lookout at a robbery, trying to ink a tattoo on a 9-year-old, blithely telling a friend who has loved him since grade school that he’s not into her -- and that makes it hard for him to envision a future. He’s a funny guy who will joke about anything, but it’s clear his, and Davidson’s, humor comes from a really dark place.
Davidson gives “Staten Island” a unique edge, and although it’s not evident in his self-conscious “SNL” work, he’s a fine actor. Simultaneously laid-back and tightly wound, brash and baby-bird vulnerable, his Scott is an unpredictable and, I think, real character.
There’s a sense that he and his friends have suffered undefined psychic damage -- they do live right across the harbor from where the
“The King of Staten Island” was directed and co-written by
Even so, it’s distinctive work. The
Fine acting helps give “Staten Island” a sense of a world that is familiar but that we have not seen in quite this way. The ending is overly eager to make us feel good about Scott’s future, wrapping things up much too neatly. Up to that point, though, there’s something beautiful about its messy insistence on the goodness and dignity of its title character, who is searching for a way to get out of his own head and, maybe, off that tiny island.
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