King of California
King of California Image
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Metascore
63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: 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)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    88
    Wood is excellent, but this is a career highlight for Douglas. His depiction of the manic Charlie stays surprisingly grounded and prevents the story from being a naive celebration of mental illness as a kind of freedom that it so easily could have become.
  2. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    75
    In updating Shakespeare’s "The Tempest," writer-director Mike Cahill focuses on the magic worth finding between a father and daughter. That’s why the film sticks with you. It’s a gift.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Zack Haddad
    60
    The film has a great visual style and manages to show Los Angeles in a fresh way that the average Hollywood eye isn’t used to, while, on the acting front, Evan Rachel Wood surpasses Michael Douglas in scenes, solidifying herself as an actor to look out for.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    A caper comedy that forgot to put in the laughs.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 15
  3. Negative: 3 out of 15
  1. DeanP
    10
    I love treasure hunt movies and this was no exception. It kept my attention the entire time.
  2. JasonL.
    8
    Despite being somewhat 'lite' in substance, this has got to be the only movie I have seen with Michael Douglas that I liked. He dumps his massive ego for a movie, that for me, was mesmerizing. The ending, was amazing. I have never seen anything quite like it. I would encourage everyone who gave this a 0, to actually watch it.… Expand
  3. ChadS.
    7
    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.… Expand
  4. RitB
    4
    Sideways Lite --- very lite.

See all 15 User Reviews

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