King Of California

It's nice to see a film not take itself too seriously; especially when there is so much dramatic potential. In 'King Of California', Charlie is released from a mental hospital and placed in the care of his teenage daughter, Miranda, who has had to drop out of school to support herself at the local McDonalds. For Miranda, its always been this way. Charlie has been in and out of hospitals and her mom has long since spilt. Now that Charlie is out, he's no where near as concerned with what she wants as he is with his latest adventure: finding a long lost Spanish treasure underneath their ever-developing California neighborhood. Being abandoned time and time again has made Miranda wise beyond her years, and her resentment seems destined to blow up in his face.

Fortunately, Charlie is just too charismatic and director Mike Cahill wants us to have fun; which we do. Whenever Miranda is at the end of her rope, staring at Costco's dishwashers to help clean up after Charlie while he pinpoints the exact location of the alleged treasure underneath the children's section, the next scene just keeps the sense of adventure rolling. The soundtrack explodes with Spanish trumpets and whistling, and the (inevitable) montages show them more as determined treasure-seekers than estranged father and daughter. This is made much easier by the two leads. As Charlie, Michael Douglas here proves that he can do anything. He's made a career playing classic leading men and cold millionaires. But not since maybe 'Falling Down' has he made such a rock bottom character so endlessly watchable. His gnarly beard and hoodie fit him as nicely as his childlike determination and musings on the world around him. Evan Rachel Wood seemed destined to play Miranda. Like Miranda, Wood has a talent and wisdom that far exceeds her years. As good as she is, it feels as if she's just warming up to go on to be the greatest actress of her generation.