Pete Davidson’s The King of Staten Island Borrows From His Own Life

Pete Davidson and Judd Apatow join forces, doing what they do best.

Universal Pictures just released the trailer for Pete Davidson’s The King of Staten Island, which is directed by Judd Apatow. Davidson has writing credits for this film, along with Apatow and Dave Sirus. Davidson plays Scott, a character who lost his fireman father at age 7, and his life has been a mess ever since. He smokes weed and dreams about becoming a tattoo artist, and while it seems that he has talent, he hasn’t really applied himself to his aspirations.

So he allows himself to drift aimlessly, until his mother’s involvement with a new man he disapproves of forces him to grapple with his grief and reevaluate his life. The film has autobiographical elements to it, since Davidson lost his own firefighter father during the September 11 attacks. The trailer does well in showcasing both Davidson and Apatow’s comedic backgrounds, but hits a more sombre note when it comes to Scott’s dealings with his family and his loss.

The film follows the trend set by Shia Labeouf’s autobiographical Honey Boy, which was based on the actor’s relationship with his father. It seems that artists are looking to film as a form of therapy, as a way to deal with past traumas, as well as move on from them.

The King of Staten Island was originally supposed to be released in cinemas June 19, 2020, but due to the current pandemic, Universal has decided to release it on Video on Demand (VOD) instead, moving up the release date to June 12, 2020.

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.