Movie review
July 22, 2020 · 137 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The King of Staten Island is a 2020 semi-autobiographical black comedy-drama directed by Judd Apatow. Pete Davidson stars as Scott, a directionless man in his mid-20s living in Staten Island who still struggles with grief after his firefighter father died on 9/11. Co-written by Davidson and Dave Sirus, the film follows Scott's everyday life with friends, his exhausted mother, and the changes when she starts dating another firefighter. It blends crude humor with personal drama about trauma, arrested development, and small steps forward in a working-class setting, with no visible identity politics, activist messaging, or representation-focused themes.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The King of Staten Island.
Woke representation / casting
The cast is mostly white and fits the authentic working-class Staten Island setting and family story. A few supporting friend roles go to actors of color but appear incidental with no emphasis, signaling, or narrative focus on identity or quotas. Prominent characters and family stay grounded in the story's demographic logic.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays on personal grief, family fights, crude jokes about sex, drugs, and daily frustrations. No activist speeches, identity arguments, systemic critiques, or modern political lectures appear.
Identity-driven story themes
The plot follows one man's grief over his father's 9/11 death, mental health struggles, aimlessness, and slow growth through family and relationships. Themes stay individual and personal rather than group identity, oppression narratives, or social justice framing.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Firefighters and first responders receive respectful, heroic treatment linked to the father's memory and a positive new male role model. The story supports personal responsibility and emotional growth without activist attacks on masculinity, family, institutions, or Western norms.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. This is an original semi-autobiographical story with no established characters, source material, or historical figures changed for ideological reasons.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No meaningful public backlash, social media campaigns, or news coverage accused the film of pushing woke, DEI, identity politics, or left-wing messaging. Discussions stayed on humor, length, and emotional tone.
Creator track record context
Judd Apatow brings a history of broad raunchy comedies with little activist pattern. Writers Pete Davidson and Dave Sirus have made some left-leaning public statements on social issues, but this does not create a dominant identity-driven or DEI creative pattern for the project.
Production
