People Are Raving About Pete Davidson’s Comedy The King Of Staten Island

There has been a hell of a lot of hype around Pete Davidson's new comedy drama, The King of Staten Island.

According to early reviews, it seems like the hype certainly lives up to expectations. Luckily for Australians, the movie will premiere today across the country. It will be released in Victoria when cinemas reopen.

Directed by Judd Apatow (Freaks and Geeks, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), the film follows Scott (Davidson), a 24-year-old who is struggling to deal with the death of his firefighter dad while still living at home with his mum (Marisa Tomei).

Davidson's character was already finding it tough to find his feet as an adult, however the rug is truly pulled out from him when his mum strikes up a romance with Ray (Bill Burr), another fireman.

Universal Pictures

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an audience rating of 86 percent, with the consensus praising Davidson for a 'soulful performance' that holds the movie together.

Reviewers have called the film a 'brutally honest, first-person account of what can happen to a family when tragedy strikes' and the 'funniest and most meaningful film Judd Apatow has done in a decade'.

It's being praised for how it portrays single mums, firefighters, mental health issues and personal tragedy.

The story is especially personal to Saturday Night Live's Davidson, who lost his father - a firefighter also called Scott - when he died doing his job during the 9/11 terror attack.

Scott suffers from ADHD in the film, and like Davidson he has Crohn's disease - a bowel condition that leaves him in chronic pain.

Universal Pictures

Speaking about the experience of making such a personal movie, Davidson told LADbible: "It wasn't too difficult because I had Judd there at the helm. Judd and I have a great relationship and he's always very sensitive to how I'm feeling and my issues.

"We just really talked about everything and were really open and honest. I think because there was such a loving environment around it was rather easy for me to do this."

Apatow said of the film: "[Scott's] life isn't going the way he wants, he's kind of lost. Only by letting go of some of his friends who are taking him in a bad direction can he evolve and grow up.

"We all have turning point moments in our lives where we can make good decisions or really bad decisions, and this is about him hitting bottom in a bunch of ways."

The King of Staten Island will hit cinemas around Australia today (July 16). Get your tickets here.

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie