King of California (2007)

Director:

Mike Cahill

Writer:

Mike Cahill (written by)

Release Date:

12 September 2007 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

We're All Searching for Something ...

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Father | Quest | Volvo | Night

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 22	8:00 PM	SHOW
Fri. Dec. 25	4:00 PM	SHOW
Sat. Dec. 26	5:25 AM	SHOW

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Charlie
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Miranda
Willis Burks II	...	Pepper
Laura Kachergus	...	Rita
Paul Lieber	...	Doug
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Kelly
Anne L. Nathan	...	Applebee's Manager (as Anne Nathan)
Arthur Santiago	...	McDonald's Manager
Ashley Greene	...	McDonald's Customer
Ian Hopps	...	Boy
Anna Khaja	...	Officer Contreras
Will Rothhaar	...	Security Guard
Annie O'Donnell	...	Greeter
Greg Davis Jr.	...	Joseph
Jeanie Hackett	...	Teacher

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, mature thematic elements and brief drug references.

Runtime:

93 min | Canada:96 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG | Germany:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42631) | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | UK:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Millennium Films

Trivia:

According to Michael Douglas, the film was shot in 31 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: The headrests in the Volvo keep changing from the old 1985 and earlier style, to the more squat 1986 and later style. This is due to the fact that two of the cars were used throughout the movie, one of which broke down during filming.

Quotes:

Chinese Man: [last lines - something in Chinese] ... is California, ha?
Miranda: Excuse me?
Chinese Man: This place, this California, ha?
Miranda: Oh... Yeah.
Chinese Man: [announces to others in Chinese]
Miranda: Welcome.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-09-22)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Let's Pretend There's A Moon

A nice little movie where all the things that could have been done wrong weren't...

It was too easy to expect a rug-chewing performance from Michael Douglas as a crazy person, and an exasperated, eye-rolling two-dimensional "oh I'm so put-upon by the world" job from Evan Rachel Wood.

Thankfully, those clichés were avoided in this poignant and ultimately joyful and uplifting (thank God!) story of quiet nobility, personal vision and purpose, and underlying love and strength amongst otherwise "broken" people.

It's refreshing to go into a theatre not expecting much and coming out enlightened by the combined vision of the actors, writer, director, and cinematographer.

Bravo to all involved, and here's hoping to see a strong presence at the Academy Awards.