King of California (2007) User Reviews

Too silly to be serious,too wistful to be dismissed

[KUAlum26 · 1 April 2008]

Fifteen-year old Miranda(Evan Rachel Wood,luminescent!!) has had to grow up fast,since her mother left her and her father and said father,Charlie(Michael Douglass,in a word:WOW!) was institutionalized for reasons not entirely made clear but discernible through observation. When Charlie is de-institutionalized,he returns to his daughter with a grand plan to find gold in the hills along the Pacific Coast Highway. She is,in a word,skeptical.

Director and writer Mike Cahill makes a movie that is both at once full of quirk and melancholy,with the daughter as somewhat of a de facto narrator. The quest for finding the treasure,while ridiculous and unquestionably irresponsible,is still almost noble and pure. Wood and Douglass shine very nicely as the estranged,mentally delicate father and daughter duo who haven't stopped loving each other,even if they get each other even less than they did before. A simple story,framed by quirky music(jazz?folk?) and a nearly poetic filming of contemporary California coastline as it contrasts the 16th century maps that Charlie references. Lost in the sea of fall releases from last year,this film is a very pleasant find on the rental shelves.

Wacky but sweet comedy with a delightful Michael Douglas.

[Panterken · 7/10 · 7 January 2008]

King Of California is best described as a wacky but sweet comedy. Michael Douglas is really delightful and that's reason enough to check out this film. He plays one of the most likable characters I've seen in a long time. The plot is so 'out there' I don't even know how to write a plot summary without making it sound like a silly kids movie. When in fact, it's a mature movie, dealing with real issues without ever getting preachy.

Some people have posted threads here on IMDb asking: Is this a comedy? Well, I'm not saying it's a typical American in your face comedy but it sure is funny to me.

Some complaints: Evan Rachel Wood is not really that great of an actress (yet). Of course she's talented but I mean...she was talented four years ago. Now I'm like...when is she finally gonna deliver. To be fair, I haven't seen all of her movies so maybe I should check out some other ones before spewing criticism.

Also, King Of California is one of those movies that left me feeling indifferent. That's not a flaw, it's just the kind of movie KOC is. I like movies that confront me or get me thinking.

I wouldn't recommend it to most of my friends, since I predict about half the people are really gonna like it, and half are gonna find it boring. I would recommend it to more mature people, who like independent films.

6.7/10

A Tired Script but a Platform for the Skillful Acting of Douglas and Wood

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 1 February 2008]

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

Michael Douglas Plays Whacky-Zanny and This Movie is a Whole Lot of Good

[sundevil27 · 9/10 · 29 January 2007]

After seeing the trailer for this movie and checking out the cast and filmmakers I made this a must see at this years Sundance Film Festival. The combination of Alexander Payne (Sideways,Election,About Schmidt) producing and Michael Douglas playing wacky gives hope for another great dramedy along the lines of Little Miss Sunsine and Sideways. King of California easily meets those hopes and for many it will be much more enjoyable then those former films. The movie features Douglas as Charlie a recently released mental patient with a whimsical fascination for buried Spanish treasure. While Charlie has been away his 16 year old daughter Miranda played by Evan Racheal Wood has managed to avoid child services, dropped out of school and support herself and their home by working full-time at Mcdonalds. Upon Charlies arrival home Miranda finds that life was much easier without Charlie around, not only does she have to support their home but now she has to take care of her unstable father. Persitent with his intent to search for a mythical buried Spanish treasure Miranda begrudgingly agrees to help him. The movie finds its humor and warmth in the moments shared between Charlie and Miranda during their treasure hunting through developed suburbia that leads them to a unlikely final destination. In the end the real treasure may not be the gold after all but the love between a daughter and father.

The ever developing Evan Racheal Wood is solid in the role of Miranda, the whole movie develops through her narration and her acting is effortlessly touching. Michael Douglas is outstanding and in true form here, from start to finish he's a joy to watch, this is easily his best performance since Wonder Boys. This will definitely be one of the best movies in 2007, expect praise a plenty for Douglas come awards time.

Inspiring and heart warming

[Gordon-11 · 5 December 2007]

This film is about a recently released mental patient who is obsessed with finding hidden treasure mentioned by a 400 year old journal.

"King of California" is an interesting film. It starts off slow, but it the pace becomes increasingly quick along the way, and at the end the pace is too quick to grasp everything. I cannot not really understand the ending because so much happens within a short amount of time. I like Michael Douglas' portrayal as a psychotic person. He is not over the top, and yet looks and acts crazy enough. His character is likable and goofy. Evan Rachel Wood is also great in the film. This is a good piece of independent cinema. It is inspiring and heart warming I hope it gets more attention than it is having.

Sweet and Funny

[brenttraft · 9/10 · 5 March 2008]

I 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." Along with "Pretty Persuasion" and "Down in the Valley," she could be the next Parker Posey.

This is one of the best films of 2007. Make sure not to miss it.

How to approach "King of California"....

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 24 February 2008]

This is a film about the relationship between a father and his daughter. The daughter is extremely responsible, and more mature than dad. Dad is an irresponsible dreamer, and the role reversal is intriguing. Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood nicely compliment a very clever script. If you are the type of viewer who demands complete logic in everything that happens on the screen, you will not enjoy "King of California", because the story requires you to suspend disbelief. If you enjoy a treasure hunt, even one that is chasing smoke, then by all means see this film. It has a nice message,"you've got to believe in treasure to find it" - MERK

Golden Performances

[marimbadaddy · 7/10 · 30 March 2008]

The King of Calinfornia features excellent performances and character development from Michale Douglass and Evan Rachel Wood. Douglass' character is especially weird and wacky, but respectable. The film is very slow moving, but enjoyable. The film is definitely not as it appears to be about the extrinsic treasure hunt. Rather is more of an intrinsic hunt for the relationship and love between a misguided father, and his prematurely grown-up daughter.

The film has a great balance of drama and humor, with just a touch of adventurous excitement. Other posts have similar offerings regarding the quality and depth of this film.

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

[kvinneslandr · 9/10 · 9 November 2007]

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.

Fine Performances In A Slightly Flawed Film

[Seamus2829 · 8/10 · 7 October 2007]

Make no mistake about it. Evan Rachael Wood is fast becoming a most welcome addition to the rising wave of young stars in films today. I totally admired her work in 'Thirteen' (2003),and 'Running With Scissors'(2006). In this one, she plays the daughter of a recently released mental patient (Michael Douglas,sporting an unkempt beard)who is obsessing over buried treasure somewhere in the suburbs of California. Michael Douglas makes his performance as Charles work nicely, acting like a loony that was released from the home a bit too early, in contrast to Wood's anchor that holds things together. The screenplay does contain a few potholes along the way, but not enough to make this worth avoiding.

A very slow moving movie featuring superb acting from Douglas.

[Mr_Saxon · 5/10 · 21 January 2008]

"King Of California" is the art house version of "National Treasure" or "Indiana Jones". It's the story of Charlie (Michael Douglas) who is released from the mental institution in which he has spent several years and is reunited with his sixteen year old daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood). Although he is obviously a few sandwiches short of a picnic, Charlie manages to convince his daughter to join him in a quest for buried treasure. Together they move through Southern California looking for clues leading to the lost doubloons.

If, after reading that description of the plot, you're now expecting these two characters to run through dark tunnels with giant boulders rolling after them then you'd be wrong. "King Of California" is a slow and very quiet movie which focuses more on Charlie and Miranda repairing their relationship than the actual treasure hunt. Miranda has been forced to take a job at McDonalds in order to survive during her father's absence meaning that she is now the rational one whilst Charlie acts as a child. Their search for the treasure takes them to golf courses and busy stores where Charlie sees signs that they're on the right trail whilst Miranda, not fully believing in Charlie's dream, simply wants to spend some time with the father she's lost touch with.

Douglas gives one of his finest performances in recent years as Charlie, managing to make the character seem insane whilst also being totally appealing (witness the way in which he wins arguments by stating absurd facts and telling people to "look it up"). Evan Rachel Wood is also perfect in her role. It may not be as showy a role as Douglas' but Wood convinces you that Miranda absolutely loves her father despite all his faults (and he certainly has a lot).

Although I liked "King Of California", I really can't say that I loved it - the plot was perhaps a little too slow moving for my tastes. I certainly admired its message, however, that you should follow your dreams because dreams give you something to believe in. If you have patience and like character-driven movies which reveal their charms at a very leisurely pace (such as the movies "Sideways" or "Rushmore"), then I'd recommend watching "King Of California" for its superb acting and life-affirming message. Others - like myself - however, who prefer story lines to move along at a much quicker rate may find it a bit boring in places and slightly too whimsical overall.

The two leads completely save the film

[MBunge · 5/10 · 4 July 2011]

A comedy that doesn't have its first laugh out loud moment until it's more than halfway over and then takes an oddly unjustified turn into the maudlin at the end isn't usually going to be that good. Add in a gratingly whimsical soundtrack that makes you feel like someone is constantly tapping you on the forehead with a spatula and you've got something that should suck. Fortunately for King Of California, Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood paddle fast enough as actors to keep the whole movie from going over the edge and down the Niagara Falls of crappy cinema.

Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) is a 16 year old girl who lives alone in a big old house, drives a ramshackle station wagon and works at McDonald's. She's all alone because her mother ran off when she was nine and her father Charlie (Michael Douglas) has been in a state mental institution for the last 2 years. Charlie gets out and moves back in with Miranda, his bipolar looniness largely intact, and drags his daughter in a treasure hunt for lost Spanish gold from 1624. They wander the countryside, following decoded instructions from an old missionary's journal, eventually winding up breaking into a Costco and digging through the floor. That's where King of California takes a severe right turn out of indulgently amusing and into arbitrary drama with an ending that can be understood in two different ways, though I'm not sure these filmmakers could tell you which was the right way.

Everything that's right about this movie flows out of the performances of Douglas and Wood. Charlie is a wonderful character who stumbles along the edge of mental health, never wanting to go over but never wanting to move back to where it's completely safe. Miranda is adorable as a young woman who can't deny her love for her father, no matter how much she might want to. Douglas and Wood are marvelous in crafting a relationship where it's never clear how much Charlie is pulling Miranda after him and how much she's walking arm in arm with him just so she can be close to her spacey dad. With the two of them almost constantly on screen together, King Of California is almost constantly enjoyable.

Put two lesser actors in those roles and this film would have crashed hard and burned harder because there's so many things wrong with it. As previously mentioned, there are hardly any jokes for the first 50 minutes of this supposed comedy and not many more attempts at feeble situational humor. And outside of a few short flashbacks, there's also no actual drama in the movie until the very end. The viewer's interest has to entirely float along on the good feelings engendered by Douglas and Wood. And when the script does plunge into dramatics, it's so out of place and awkward it feels like the whole movie swallowed some mood-altering pharmaceutical. Drama needs conflict to survive and there just isn't any here. Charlie is portrayed as kooky but otherwise completely functional. Flashbacks show 9 year old Miranda suffering through a childhood of her mother's abandonment and her father's depression, but grown up Miranda doesn't show a single emotional or psychological scar from the experience. These are fundamentally happy people living fundamentally happy lives, despite all challenges, which is okay but not the stuff of wrenching emotional climaxes.

King of California is an almost disaster that is salvaged into watchability by its male and female leads, proving that a movie doesn't have to be good at everything as long as it's great at one thing.

Great Work....

[namashi_1 · 8/10 · 22 August 2009]

Mike Cahill deserves kudos for making an attempt like 'King Of California'. A unique idea, translated into a lovely piece of cinema. The 2007 flick, succeeds.... Big Time!

You don't expect 'King Of California' to be a milestone.... and that's the beauty of it. The expectations are medium, and you when finish the screening, you're taken by a pleasant surprise. As mentioned earlier from this writer, this film works big time.

In all departments the film works. The Writer-Director keeps your attention held almost throughout. The Cinematography is brilliant; maintaining a consistent look throughout.

The Performances are outstanding: Michael Douglas is remarkable. Playing his part with amazing understanding, easily one of his careers best works. Evan Rachel Wood is excellent from start to end.

All said n done, 'King Of California' is classy work, neat work. I give it, Two Thumbs Up!

if you want to see Michael Douglas...

[MLDinTN · 6/10 · 4 December 2009]

play a crazy guy, then this is right up your alley. Douglas plays a recently released bi polar patient that goes to live with his 16 year old daughter. His daughter dropped out of school and says she's been working full time at McDonald's since he got sent away. Now that part is not believable because there are labor laws and a 15 year old could not just get around them.

Once he comes home, he has this crazy idea that there is buried treasure. So he goes on all these hunts using metal detectors, back hoes, the stars and his daughter goes along with it. She doesn't even try to tell him it's the delusions, she does his crazy schemes. Then she gets mad when he sells her car and takes out loans on the house he can't pay.

So the ending was pretty cool. They break into a Costco because he believes that is where the treasure is buried. And the daughter gets a sort of fairy tale ending.

FINAL VERDICT: OK, it was entertaining and a short movie. Worth watching on cable.

The amazing performances from Douglas & Rachel Wood make this interesting, yet bizarre film worth seeing

[callanvass · 7/10 · 14 November 2013]

I'm not sure if I can state this enough. This movie may not be for everyone. If you're looking for a film that's filled with originality and creativity, you may have hit the jackpot with this one. One thing about this movie is it's never boring, nor is it predictable. It's truly an original film, but I'm not fully sure if I liked it. It was a bit too cold for my liking at times, and it was the performances that kept me going. Your enjoyment may depend on how much you can get into Douglas's character. He is so loony he ended up being likable for me. Douglas has delivered many great performances out there, and this is right up there with the best of them. It was unlike any other character he's played before, and he nailed it to perfection. Evan Rachel Wood is just as good as Douglas. She is one of the most unheralded actresses going today. Her character might not be as dynamic as Douglas's, but she is just as vital as the daughter. Her excellent chemistry with Douglas was on point throughout. The finale was a bit a mixed for me. What I got out of the movie is this. It wasn't about finding treasure. It was about two estranged individuals reconnecting with one another, and trying to understand each other. The journey was a bit quirky, and I'm not sure it's something I'll ever watch again, but it was worth it overall.

7/10

One of the best movies of 2007

[vladhxh · 10/10 · 26 March 2008]

This is one of the best movies I saw recently. It has a bit of everything to make it an independent movie classic - goof ball characters, craziness and whole deal of introspection. What makes this movie different from many other independent films is a feel-good vibe which recently has been tough to find in American cinema and a quirky, interesting plot line. If there is anything bad I can say about the movie is that it felt too short. Fans of Little Miss Sunshine and Six feet under should be pleased with this little gem of a movie.

"King of California" actually deserves to be much more popular than it is now.

Somewhat enjoyable but easily forgettable

[oneloveall · 5/10 · 16 January 2008]

Michael Douglas finally gets to cut loose a bit as a mentally loose father of one who just got out of an institution only to lead his responsible daughter onto a wild treasure hunt culminating beneath Costco's warehouse floor. King of California is one of those mildly engaging, semi-quirky, enjoyable little indie films that nonetheless becomes pretty forgettable after viewing.

First timer Mike Cahill shows promise, both thematically in his modern versus ancient ruminations, and stylistically in shooting some of the urban locations in a majestic light. Unfortunately, even as the climax continues to build interest, the end result, coupled by Evan Rachel Wood 's omnipotent narration throughout pulls this somewhat unique movie back into a more typical independent-styled, light-hearted character study, forsaking most bona-fide personality for a more well rounded and safer viewing experience.

A Fine Madness.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 16 December 2009]

Michael Douglas has just been released from a mental hospital. During his years as an inmate, he read a great deal about California history, especially the stories left by monks of lost treasure. One monk in particular, left behind a diary of his journey in 1651 in which he lists clues of the treasure's whereabouts. Douglas returns home and enlists the aid of his estranged daughter, Evan Rachel Wood, in his besotted quest. She supports them with her job at McDonalds. They pawn or sell everything except their house in order to buy the equipment necessary to track down the lost doubloons -- back hoes, scuba equipment, and so forth.

It's a gentle family comedy, not a zany laff riot. There are no pratfalls, little vulgarity, and nothing raunchy or violent. The model of madness is fey and whimsical. There's nothing dangerous about the deranged Douglas. He's funny.

And it's Douglas's kind of role too. He's superb at wild-eyed restraint. At one point he's about to drive away in Wood's heap of a car and she rushes out to stop him. She shines a flashlight through the window and when he explains the purpose of his midnight trip his eyes are so wide open that the irises are surrounded by white, as in a cartoon. I looked in the mirror and tried to do it myself and couldn't.

Wood is less effective. She looks and sounds as if she'd just been extraordinarily renditioned from the streets of Sherman Oaks. She was stunning as an early adolescent in "Thirteen," where she embodied a sort of savage innocence, whereas here she's a generically beautiful young woman.

The script depends a lot on the performances because there really isn't much to the story except air. One mildly amusing incident follows another, and they'd all be pointless if they weren't built around Douglas's obsession with the monk's leavings.

The dialog is warm and funny without the willingness to crack the viewer up with laughter. Everyone seems so charming and good natured. Here's an example of one of the more ludic lines.

Wood: (Shouting) "You think the world is only here for your own amusement!" Douglas: (Shrugs) "Look at the world." Now, an exchange like this must necessarily make a great big thud unless it's carried off perfectly, with neither party acting as if they realized its absurdity. And they do it.

There was one sad underlying impression that I'm not sure the writers/director meant to elicit. I mean the striking contrast between the landscape descriptions from the monk's diary. They're all about pure valleys and unspoiled heaving hills and rivers and caves and rocks. The landscape that Douglas and Wood explore is mottled with housing tracts and strip malls. These developments seem to have been caught in mid flight, while spreading like some malignancy across the natural features of the land. Douglas needs to break into CostCo and drill through several feet of concrete to find the monk's river, now driven underground, hidden under a multitude of shelves with boxes of consumer crap. There's nothing especially funny about purity lost.

Underdeveloped 2-Man Act

[bob-rutzel-1 · 4/10 · 20 February 2008]

Charlie (Douglas) is released from a mental hospital and returns to his home to live with his daughter, Miranda, (Wood) who had been comfortably supporting herself while he was away. And, Charlie has a plan to find the treasure Father Torres hid in the 1600s. Miranda is no longer comfortable.

Normally, I run to a Michael Douglas movie and I ran to this one too, but now that I have seen it I wonder what all the running was about. There is something very wrong in this movie and I am not sure I know what it is. The narration by Miranda didn't bother me. It filled in gaps. Some of the narration was almost funny. The best line was by Miranda and went something like this: I never felt comfortable when he was around. I always felt something was about to happen. The movie shows that she did love her father, questionable as he was, but she looked after him like a mother would watch her child running close to sharp cornered tables.

I, too, felt something was about to happen except it never did. Charlie was running around like a drunken sailor and seemingly lined up with pointy edged tables but his head never veered into those edges. He just kept running from one point on the map to another one to find that treasure. Miranda was frustrated and so was I.

I just figured out what is wrong with this movie. It was a 2-man act: Charlie and Miranda. It needed to be more than that, more interaction with others, more dialogue, There was some, but not enough for me. Charlie bounced around so much it was hard to like him despite a twinkle in his eye and his easy-going constitution. He was incomplete as was the movie. I felt for Miranda, but not Charlie. The character Douglas played couldn't sustain a movie lead. He was like a monkey running from one found banana to another. We liked Charlie but we weren't sure what he liked and yes, we were wary of him too. We wanted Charlie to be more of a human soul, to be somewhat normal. Well, that wasn't going to happen and we were shut out. But, "somewhat normal" could have worked, too, in looking for the treasure. Audiences like it when the characters look for a treasure. Here we didn't care if it was found. The movie told us the journey was more important than the destination.

Did the movie save itself? I think so even with the poor ending. Okay, really bad ending. But, the next time I will walk, not run, to a Michael Douglas movie, maybe read the box next time, ask a few friends, read some reviews…..slow walking the whole time.

Violence:No; Sex: No; Nudity:No; Language: Yes and I didn't see any need for it in this "comedy."

Shiny diamond of a movie

[Extinctive · 9/10 · 27 October 2007]

One of those extremely rare movies that makes you wish you could personally thank everyone involved for creating it. By writing this I hope to achieve that. Thank you Mike Cahill, thank you Evan Rachel Wood and thank you Michael Douglas for this amazingly touching piece of art. This is arguably the best promotion of human free will I've seen on screen! Brilliant performances by the entire cast, from the wild Latina with her hazel colored eyes to the fat crowd at the 'barbecue'. I felt blessed to see this piece of pure gold in movie-making. Transcending everyday-life, every second of it. Pulling you out of your reality, and into this beautiful made-up world from writers, actors, camera-people, engineers, producers, editors, set dressers and animation drawing magicians, in studios, working with their black trolleys and heavy batteries, on locations, shutting down streets, with their lighting equipment and recording mixers. Without for a moment being distracted by the thought of them having faked it all for you, the viewer.

This little treasure throws you in a natural high, floats you over the big cloud of a dream come true, in which nothing else matters. Written as though it is one huge poem. Beginning and ending with naked Chinese guys. Funny in such an honest way. Subtle yet efficient. Easy yet action packed. And what a sweet soundtrack and score!

Also, to those claiming there are plot holes: Check again. I can give you ways out of every little one of your sad excuses of a bad imagination. They aren't there. No plot holes. None.

I'm rating this a 9 only because I wanted to see a different ending. Maybe it will be there as an extra on the HD-DVD. Sure hope so, I'll be buying it.

"California Dreaming": Does it lead to that pot of gold???

[screenwriter-14 · 6/10 · 15 September 2007]

With each film she makes, Evan Rachel Wood just becomes better and better as an Actor and in KING OF California her outstanding role in the film carries it forward with a remarkable performance from Michael Douglas in a character role that is beyond belief. Act one is a tad slow in developing the story, and it is Wood who makes you want to find out what may happen to her father, Douglas. The fight against growth in suburbia is amply shown on the screen of the "over development" in So Cal and the house amongst the track homes is really a brilliant sub story in itself. However, with watching Douglas pursue his wild dreams and what happens at the end of the film, "once and again", it is the marvelous acting of Wood which makes California a film worth watching.

Quirky, But Fun

[sddavis63 · 6/10 · 5 September 2009]

This is no doubt one of the stranger movies I've seen recently. Not a bad movie, by any means, it still didn't really manage to captivate me to the point at which I'd consider it really good.Michael Douglas put on an excellent performance as Charlie, a man just released from a psychiatric institution who is convinced that he's discovered the location of a secret treasure buried by the Spaniards almost 400 years before. The problem: how to get at it, since it's now buried under a giant Costco warehouse! Watching Charlie work his magic in his search for the treasure is amusing, and another clear highlight of the movie was the performance of Evan Rachel Wood as his 16-year old daughter Miranda, who's also learned to be quite the operator while Charlie was institutionalized, convincing everyone that she was being looked after by someone else so that everyone would just leave her alone. Her relationship with Charlie is complicated. Both Douglas and Wood pulled off the role reversal perfectly - Miranda essentially being the mature and responsible adult as opposed to Charlie's child-like qualities. Miranda is often frustrated by Charlie and sometimes angry with him (only calling him "Dad" when he insists) and yet over the course of the movie Wood also does a good job portraying her growing affection and closeness for him. The movie perhaps becomes just a bit too over the top ridiculous once it shifts inside the Costco, and I have to say that I was just a bit put off by the obvious advertising for various chains (Costco, McDonald's and Applebee's are all featured in this.) Still, commercials aside, while not captivating it certainly counts as quirky fun. 6/10

Top 100 All-Time

[jmberkland · 9/10 · 24 August 2012]

I've worked at blockbuster. I've worked a Hollywood video. I've seen thousands of movies.

This breaks the top 100 all time for me.

Apparently my review wasn't long enough.....hm.....

The acting was great, the main character was zany, the chemistry and relationship of the two (evan rachel wood and michael douglass) was sensational throughout, and the movie just felt.....i don't know....unconventional. Something new, something fresh, something that I hadn't been seen done before - not like this.

I wonder if Michael Douglass hit that......

Interesting movie

[victoriaacunningham · 10/10 · 9 August 2009]

I must admit, this movie is far removed from my usual liking of zombies and serial killers. I do not understand why so many people do not like it. One has to ask, after losing her home, then her father, how and why did a 17 year old come up with the money to buy a dishwasher she so desperately wanted for a house she no longer has? Let us go back to a small scene in which her father had given her her own credit card in her name. Why would he do that you suppose? The methodology was simplistic and brilliant at the same time, and was most likely overlooked by many viewers. The heart wrenching scene at the near end of the father tying her to the soda machines and telling her how important she was and what she meant to him was beautiful. Then we see him cautiously running from rack to rack with a small plastic container, empty at first, then heavy and rattling on the way back. Then he dives back into the hole to go after the rest of the gold. This is where most people have trouble. First, the rushing water. Rushing water is moving water and therefore has to empty out somewhere. It just doesn't stop. After realizing he cannot go back the way he came he follows the flow of water and comes to a light ahead but it is too narrow and he cannot cross it with his tanks. He removes them and swims up. Remember the dream of the naked Chinese men? What does his daughter come across on the beach? What empties into the ocean? He lives. The director leaves the outcome up to interpretation, but I must believe that he lives given the small clues and the character's ability to see the outcome.

Another one of the bunch or not?

[jpschapira · 7/10 · 10 October 2009]

There are far more "Little Miss Sunshines" or "Sideways" than we might think. Good movies like the two mentioned titles, I think, because of time and place (and other factors, of course; but it depends on the year) end up occupying a privileged position they might not completely deserve. I men, they do deserve it; it's just that there are many movies that could share the same luck. I think Mike Cahill's "King of California", (not) coincidentally produced by Alexander Payne, is one of those films.

Not planning to blow our minds in any way, with a true love for cinema and his characters, writer/director Cahill delivers an intimate, delicate and complex story in his directorial debut, set in the sunny sceneries of Los Angeles, California. After we've experienced a rich use of music, filled with amiable guitars and acoustic songs that reflect the piece's mood, it's not until the very end that Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) makes clear that we are, indeed, in California; but we have the film's title in our head and, even so, it doesn't seem to matter where the events take place. Miranda becomes responsible for the narration, as we go with her to a mental institution. His father is leaving the place and moving back in with her. She calls him Charlie (Michael Douglas). Charlie believes there's a treasure hidden somewhere; he wants to look for it and his daughter, not without reason, accepts he's totally mad.

What's important, though, it's that the environment is sunny. We all know by now, as viewers, that independent American cinema deals very much with dysfunctional families and beings. Therefore, we don't need it to get darker than the first impression we have because it will always be more interesting and original to see something falling apart in the light of day than amongst a disturbing and (maybe) forced obscurity. Jonathan and Valerie Faris knew this very well, Alexander Payne is a master in the subject and Mike Cahill also seems to understand how the 'device' (if you want to give a name to it) works.

That said, it's also fair to admit that it's not always that a father-teenage daughter relationship is the core and reason to be of a movie. It's typical to expect that kind of development as a subplot, and most of the time it's very superficial. In "King of California", Miranda and her father are the only existing players. Of course, there's the obligatory contact with the outer world, but the fact that Charlie is insane and his daughter ends up following him anywhere makes one believe they might live in a parallel universe...That is, until from time to time a cop or security guard warns them because of the wild activities they're performing (this is something you have to watch).

Michael Douglas is one of the best, or the few veteran actors -Alec Baldwin comes to mind- at doing something quite complex to achieve and difficult to explain: laughing of themselves. Douglas came up with this during this decade, partly, I believe, because it builds credibility, to an extent. It's easy to perceive: it involves laughing all the time; and in a movie like this one it's delightful to see Douglas having the time of his life. And Evan Rachel Wood is always a good companion, as a daughter mostly, bringing out the best in his pairs (Holly Hunter in "Thirteen", Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler", Joan Allen in "The Upside of Anger") and illuminating every scene she's in.

It's a very difficult theme to manage, this kind of relationship as the center of a picture. There's the risk of too many scenes with tears and references to the past that might be unnecessary in the first place and indicative secondly. Pay attention to the flashbacks in "King of California" to seek for a precise and effective creation of emotion through the resource. I compliment Cahill and expect more from him next time.