The King of California (2007)

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Directed by Mike Cahill, Michael Cahill.

Starring Paul Lieber, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Wilhoite, Evan Rachel Wood, Willis Burks II, Laura Kachergus.

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Michael Douglas stars as a treasure-hunting eccentric in this Alexander Payne-produced comedy from director Michael Cahill. Recently released from a mental institution and reunited with his teenage daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), Charlie (Douglas) decides there's century's old gold buried near their lower-middle-class neighborhood, and sets out on an obsessive quest to find it. Along the way, the estranged parent and child rekindle a long-lost bond with each other. Featuring a score by David Robbins, King of California screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

king of california
by wonga in wonga's filmblog

is neutral about it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"it feels like this movie was based on a book or a play and that something important was left out. very improbable story but Michael Douglas is fun to watch. the not so subtle theme of modern society being evil (fast food, urban sprawl, etc.) got a little preachy. " [More]

King of California
by MovieBabe in MovieBabe Blog

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"By Tricia Olszewski Michael Douglas is looking for spare change...I mean buried treasureIf you saw Michael Douglas' King of California character on the street, you'd avoid eye contact and walk quickly past. Having just spent the past two years in an institution, Douglas' Charlie is disheveled and wild-eyed, oblivious to the ideas of authority or boundaries, and talks of little but finding an ancient treasure buried somewhere in West Coast suburbia. But this is a movie, so Charlie isn't mentally ill, he's magical. His unkempt hair and bushy beard are charming. And his eyes aren't rheumy from manic, sleepless nights, they sparkle with life. Charlie's 16-year-old daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), seems to understand that her father is perhaps not yet fit to leave the hospital as she moans in voiceover about how the relatively stable life she's made for herself, trading school for a full-time job at McDonald's to pay the bills, is about to ... " [More]

Coming-of-age fantasy
by Failed2Fire in Failed2Fire Blog

is neutral about it.

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"“King of California” is a coming-of-age fantasy set in the hinterlands of Los Angeles County. I apply here the term “fantasy” advisedly. Any one scene could, in reality, occur. There are no faeries or miracles, no alchemy to defy the laws of physics. Yet the chain of events is so wildly improbable that if we are to suspend our disbelief – and I do so happily and willingly – then we come away feeling to have crossed into a fantastic realm. Which is a rather pleasant place to be. There’s an undercurrent of humor here as workmanlike as it is playful. Michael Douglas acts the nut-case-of-a-father with a sparkle in his eye. We understand immediately why his independent-minded child, played by Evan Rachel Wood, should not only countenance his abuse but go on to develop her hypnotic fascination with electric dishwashers. (Never has Michael Douglas so eerily resembled father Kirk. One suspects an homage.) ... " [More]

Tags: treasure , beard , coming-of-age , beautiful , costco
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