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12 Rounds Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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$9.99 Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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King of California
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some strong language, mature thematic elements and brief drug references
Starring Michael Douglas, and Evan Rachel Wood
At the age of 16, Miranda has already had to live with her share of disappointments. Abandoned by her mother, she dropped out of school and has been supporting herself as an employee at McDonald's while her father Charlie resides in a mental institution. When Charlie is released and sent back to their home, Miranda finds the relatively peaceful existence she's built for herself completely disrupted. Charlie has become obsessed with the notion that the long-lost treasure of Spanish explorer, Father Juan Florismarte Garces, is buried somewhere near their suburban California housing unit. Armed with a metal detector and a stack of treasure-hunting books, Charlie soon finds reason to believe that the gold resides underneath the local Costco. He then encourages Miranda to get a job there so that they can plan a way to excavate after hours. (First Look Pictures)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy |
| WRITTEN BY: | Michael Cahill |
| DIRECTED BY: | Michael Cahill |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: January 29, 2008 Theatrical: September 14, 2007 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 93 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | Mexico / USA |
| LANGUAGE(S): | English / Spanish |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 40 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Philip K. gave it a9:
Great vehicle for Michael Douglas. While the plausibility of the story is admittedly far-fetched, the film did not take itself too seriously, which enabled it to make its points about the socitey's definition of sanity and the suffocating encroachment of suburban development and modern merchandising of food (McDonalds) and goods (Costco) in a poignant way. Thus, it's entirely understandable that a certifiably crazy person (by modern society's standards) seeks treasure from California's historic past underneath the concrete floor of a Costco ('They've got everything...'), and finds it.
Justin H. gave it a6:
Good for what it is, and very watchable, but lacking in overall depth of characters and story line. After the first thirty minutes the story doesn't go much further that what is already established.
Dean P gave it a10:
I love treasure hunt movies and this was no exception. It kept my attention the entire time.
Bob N. gave it a10:
I'm giving it a ten just to piss off the dopes who gave it a zero or a 3. It's a good movie,and it demands some emotional stretching on the viewers part. Do the work, for chrissake and you'll be entertained.
Cat gave it a9:
As someone with a mother who has a mental illness and father who has no substance, this movie hit home. Wood portrayed how it really is to have to take care of one's self. If people do not understand what life is like living with someone like that, I guess it would not ring true. This is an elegantly done movie.
Jay K gave it a6:
Narration is TERRIBLE, very much like that in "Into the Wild"; somehow they made Wood seem like she was just some crappy 17-year-old actress. Michael Douglass is okay, but his character has zero dynamic range. "Manic daddy!" The script and direction are cheesmo. Camera work is lame. Pretty mediocre. Probably made my life a tiny bit worse. A lot of people will probably like it. :)
Chad S. gave it a7:
A dishwashing machine and the faraway eyes of a young girl, Miranda(Evan Rachel Wood), a sixteen-year-old high school dropout, who doesn't wish for anything more than a domestic appliance; because Charlie(Michael Douglas), her destitute father, leaves his food-encrusted dishes for his daughter to wash when she returns home after performing double-shifts at a McDonalds, is the indelible image in "King of California", an agreeable film about family blood. It's thick. Charlie suffers from a mental illness, but that doesn't mean he gets a free pass from the considerable fallout that his two-year absence from Miranda's life created. Miranda doesn't have the trappings of a normal teenaged girl. She looks at that dishwashing machine like how girls look at their boyfriends. "King of California" scores points in the realism department by showing how Charlie's eccentricities aren't cute, but have ramifications for his daughter's welfare. Blood is thick, however, and it's only fitting that there is water under Costco's floor.
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