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Joe the King
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MPAA RATING: R for language and abusive situations concerning a child
Starring Noah Fleiss, Val Kilmer, Karen Young, Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, and Camryn Manheim
Abused by his mother and his harsh, drunk father (Kilmer), 14-year-old Joe (Fleiss) progresses from committing petty thefts for food to stealing the cashbox from his employer to pay off his father's debts, all of which lead to disaster.
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: | Frank Whaley |
| DIRECTED BY: | Frank Whaley |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 15, 2000 Video: February 15, 2000 Theatrical: October 15, 1999 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 93 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
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 8.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
philip w. gave it a10:
One of my favorites of all time. dont care bout what other boneheaded critics would say but as for me the movie was moving and superbly uniformly acted. simlpe story but very true and very heartfelt. unforgetable!
Chad S. gave it an 8:
"Joe the King" reminded me of Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" ("The Chipmunk Song" opens the film) because both films are set in the seventies, and yet the music, director Frank Whalley selects, the oldies but goodies music from Theresa's vinyl record collection, suggests that the seventies was the last innocent decade. Before MTV, Crowe suggested, as Alvin, Theodore, and Simon crooned over images of Southern California, was the notion that our youth culture wasn't so rigidly commodified, any music could describe the American landscape. In "Joe the King", Joe's mom controls the film's music. It suggests her girly innocence of what married life would be like. Happy. Johnny Ray and others of his ilk, serves as an ironic soundtrack to her life as a battered wife and haggard mother. There are times we forget we're watching a seventies period piece. Outside of the scene at a disco roller rink, there is no Fleetwood Mac, or Carly Simon, to suggest the "Me Decade". In particular, there's a scene, in which, corporeal punishment is administered by Joe's teacher (Camryn Manheim) when Joe lies about his father's occupation. Val Kilmer is scary as Joe's father, and Noah Fleiss as Joe, gets our sympathy without pandering for it. Since's Joe's friend looks so much like Paul Pfeiffer from "The Wonder Years", "Joe the King" can be read as the defunct ABC series, but with less wonder and more forget.
Leslie H. gave it an 8:
Great job by Noah Fleiss for his part, the story line was great, the presentation great. I think this was one of the best movies about a boy that I have seen in a long time, a real, down to earth story about how kids put up with life and their surrounding parts. I hope he plans to do another movie, call it Joe: The King Returns, Thanks.

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