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In yet another case of `Sundance Blues' – hype-heavy films bought for big bucks at the famous January festival that fall flat upon theatrical release – Frank Whaley's Joe the King is a stale coming-of-age story that plays like a ‘70s Outsiders, only with rumbles replaced by roller rinks. Actor-turned-writer/director Whaley, probably best known as Kevin Spacey's whipping boy in Swimming with Sharks, elicits good performances from his actors, but his weak script is too much to overcome.
The film opens in a blue-collar Upstate New York town with chain-smoking nine-year-old Joe Henry (Peter Tambakis) reluctantly participating in his school's `Career Day,' where students tell their classmates both what job that they hope to have and what their parents' line of work is. Joe wants to be a crooner, just like the guys from his mom's record collection. He also tries to make up exciting jobs for his parents, but the class reminds him that Joe's pop (Val Kilmer, At First Sight) is the school's janitor, while his mother (Karen Young, Daylight) works in the rug mill.
To make matters worse, when the girl in front of him says something mean, Joe retaliates the only way he knows how – using the same violent anger repeatedly taught to him by his drunk, abusive father. Joe is dragged to the front of the class by his teacher (Camryn Manheim, The Practice), who rips his pants down and spanks him as his classmates cackle.
Flash to five years later, where a teenaged Joe (Noah Fleiss, Josh and S.A.M.) is malnourished and wears a dingy white tank-top, jeans and Chuck Taylor sneakers. Every adult that Joe comes in contact with is owed money from Joe's now unemployed dad. Joe is illegally working as a dishwasher at a local restaurant, where he receives the majority of his daily nutrients by eating discarded food from the plates he is about to wash. His school life is a mess, too, accumulating a whopping fifty-four tardies in the academic year; and, predictably, he begins to dabble in petty theft by shoplifting Ho-Hos.
As his relationship with his brother Mike (Max Ligosh, Hackers) becomes stalled (he failed to back Mike up in a fight against the school harelip), Joe's criminal offenses grow bigger and more daring. Kilmer even grunts a line at the end that pretty much sums up the film in one line - `Stevie Wonder coulda seen that comin'.' So could everybody in the audience.
In Whaley's defense, the film does look pretty decent and, like most actor-turned-directors, he extracts strong performances, especially from the kids in the film. Kilmer, who must gained about sixty pounds for his role, finds himself in a role with slightly more screen time than when he played Elvis in True Romance. I think it was probably one of those you-don't-have-a-chance-of-making-your-stupid-movie-unless-you- get-a-big-star-in-it deals, so Whaley called in a favor from his co-star from The Doors. Ethan Hawke, Whaley's A Midnight Clear co-star, also appears in the film as a guidance counselor.
Incredibly, Whaley's script shared the Waldo Screenwriting Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. I think he shared it with Runaway Bride. If it's supposed to be autobiographical, or semi-autographical, I guess you can't fault the guy for not wanting to alter what is essentially the story of his youth. But, at the same time, it doesn't make the movie any more interesting.
1:33 - R for language and abusive situations concerning a child
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