King Of California (2007)

Average rating

(58%)

Starring:	Evan Rachel Wood \| Michael Douglas
Director:	Mike Cahill
Studio:	REVOLVER ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	89 mins
Genres:	Comedy
Languages:	English
Released:	June 02, 2008
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Michael Douglas gives a bravura performance in writer-director Mike Cahill's feature-length debut, KING OF CALIFORNIA. Douglas stars as Charlie, a troubled musician who has just been released from a mental hospital. He returns home to live with his 16-year-old daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), who is not exactly thrilled to have him back. Miranda has been forced to quit school and get a job in order to support herself and hold on to her beat-up old car and the family house, which is right in the middle of a new development--but she has refused to sell out. Instead, she works extra shifts at McDonald's and has no social life. But her father--still suffering from mental illness--insists that she join him on a wild adventure in search of supposedly long-buried treasure, and soon the two of them are combing through California, facing danger as Charlie leads them on a crazy quest that takes them through major chain stores and restaurants. Wood (THIRTEEN) is excellent as Miranda, walking that fine line between wanting to believe in her father and feeling he should be hospitalized again--but she never stops loving him, even against her better judgment. Bushy-haired and wild-eyed, Douglas shines every second he's onscreen, dreaming the impossible dream. The outstanding soundtrack features songs by John Coltrane, Seals and Crofts, Bud Powell, Fats Waller, Yma Sumac, and Billy Bragg and Wilco.

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Highest rated reviews

5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

Sweet and Funny!

crockery from from Belfast, 29th June, 2008

absolutely loved 'King of California.' It is sweet and really funny. The characters are flawed, but lovable. There are basically two characters in the film. Michael Douglas plays Charlie who has just spent 2 years in a mental institution. Apparently the entire time he was there he was in the library researching lost buried treasure from the Spanish missionaries that was left in Ventura, California. Evan Rachel Wood plays his 16-year-old daughter, Miranda, who had to drop out of school so she could work double shifts at McDonalds to support herself and pay the mortgage to avoid losing the house. She is world weary and bitter at never having a proper childhood and having to be the adult in the relationship. Eventually Charlie convinces her of the validity of the buried treasure and there is a bonding as they search for the lost treasure that leads them to the depths of a local Costco warehouse. The performances are great. Michael Douglas is all bug-eyed and crazy. Evan Rachel Wood adds to her 'indie cred.'

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

King Of California

Smoggie from The Boro, 18th September, 2008

A film with an excellent feel-good-factor around it... The leads are pretty much out of character, but the parts they play are both lovable and homely. (for want of a better word) You simply just want Douglas' loony-toons character to find the buried treasure at the end of the rainbow, if nothing else but to prove all the sane people wrong... lol... The film was down to earth, with some F words which surely cannot offend, due to various scenarios, and there's the odd good laugh in there to boot as well... Worth watching.

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