HomeMovies
IRREGULAR 'JOE' Fleiss takes a backseat to hard-driving dad Kilmer
Credits
C
Joe the King is a film so willfully bleak and profanity-filled, it could only have been written and directed by an actor. Frank Whaley's debut feature strains for sweat-stained realism as it follows a 14-year-old (Noah Fleiss) drifting into a life of petty crime in the 1970s.
A few scenes between Fleiss and James Costa as his skinny-dork classmate nicely evoke knockabout adolescent-male friendship, but celebrity cameos (Camryn Manheim as a grotesquely mean teacher, Ethan Hawke as a sandals-sporting guidance counselor) overwhelm the slight story. As Fleiss' abusive father, Val Kilmer (Whaley's ''Doors'' costar) puffs out his potbelly, apparently believing that gaining weight for a role puts you in a league with Robert De Niro. That's a load of raging bull.
Posted Oct 15, 1999
You Might Also Like
- Movie News When movie animals attack: ''The Ghost and the Darkness'' (Oct 11, 1996)
- Movie Review 10th & Wolf (Aug 18, 2006) | Owen Gleiberman
- NEWS ROUNDUP Esposito joins Kilmer in ''Conspiracy'' | Mike Bruno
- Movie News Movie Forecast: Wonderland (Oct 03, 2003)
- Movie News Rome churches bar 'Angels & Demons' filming (May 19, 2006)
- Movie News Eva Mendes in talks for 'Bad Lieutenant' (1992)
Add Your Comments
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment.
If you see inappropriate language,
e-mail us.
You must have javascript enabled to submit a comment.
You Might Also Like
- Movie News When movie animals attack: ''The Ghost and the Darkness'' (Oct 11, 1996)
- Movie Review 10th & Wolf (Aug 18, 2006) | Owen Gleiberman
- NEWS ROUNDUP Esposito joins Kilmer in ''Conspiracy'' | Mike Bruno
- Movie News Movie Forecast: Wonderland (Oct 03, 2003)
- Movie News Rome churches bar 'Angels & Demons' filming (May 19, 2006)
- Movie News Eva Mendes in talks for 'Bad Lieutenant' (1992)
