Joe the King
Encyclopedia
Joe the King is a 1999
drama
film
, written and directed by Frank Whaley
, based largely on his own childhood and the childhood of his brother. It stars Noah Fleiss
, Val Kilmer
, Karen Young
, Ethan Hawke
, John Leguizamo
, Austin Pendleton
, Camryn Manheim
, Max Ligosh and James Costa. The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival
, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
) has spent his life in an abusive household. His father Bob (Val Kilmer
) is a raging violent alcoholic, while his mother, Theresa (Karen Young
) feels too stressed to pay attention to him and lives in fear of getting caught in the path of her husband's wrath. His brother, about a year older, is normal and friendly, but offers no affirmative guidance. He mostly ignores Joe as he doesn't want the association of Joe's natural uncoolness ruining his attempts to get into the "in" crowd. Joe is taunted by his classmates, and hassled by creditors about his father's mounting bills. To make matters worse, one night when Bob goes off the deep end and smashes all of Theresa's records. In response to economic pressure, he takes a full-time job after school, leaving him tired and even less able to keep up with class work. Far worse, he becomes a petty thief to raise the money to pay Bob's bills and replace her records. He even does an insider job--robbing the diner where he works illegally.
Failing in school, Joe is assigned a Guidance counselor Len Coles (Ethan Hawke
), who, though reasonably friendly, is incompetent. (For example, in their first session, when Joe starts to talk about his problems, the counselor unthinkingly shuts him off). Disaster eventually strikes, and Joe faces the rest of his seemingly doomed life in doubt. Ironically, where he winds up next seems more like hope than tragedy. Perhaps a chance to get away from his horrible childhood and family.
1999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, written and directed by Frank Whaley
Frank Whaley
Frank Joseph Whaley is an American film and television actor known for his roles in independent films.-Personal life:Whaley was born in Syracuse, New York, the son of Josephine and Robert W. Whaley, Sr. He is half-Irish and half-Sicilian and grew up in Syracuse. He has two sisters and an older...
, based largely on his own childhood and the childhood of his brother. It stars Noah Fleiss
Noah Fleiss
Noah Fleiss is an American film and television actor. He was born in White Plains, New York.Fleiss made his screen debut as a young runaway who drives cross-country with his brother in Josh and S.A.M. , perhaps his best-known film...
, Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
, Karen Young
Karen Young (actress)
Karen Young is an American actress.Born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, Young studied at Rutgers University. After graduation she moved to New York City and became an actress, appearing in such films as 9½ Weeks, Jaws: The Revenge, Daylight, Mercy and Hoffa. Her ex-husband is Tom Noonan...
, Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
, John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
, Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:...
, Camryn Manheim
Camryn Manheim
Camryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
, Max Ligosh and James Costa. The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
Plot
14-year-old Joe Henry (Noah FleissNoah Fleiss
Noah Fleiss is an American film and television actor. He was born in White Plains, New York.Fleiss made his screen debut as a young runaway who drives cross-country with his brother in Josh and S.A.M. , perhaps his best-known film...
) has spent his life in an abusive household. His father Bob (Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
) is a raging violent alcoholic, while his mother, Theresa (Karen Young
Karen Young (actress)
Karen Young is an American actress.Born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, Young studied at Rutgers University. After graduation she moved to New York City and became an actress, appearing in such films as 9½ Weeks, Jaws: The Revenge, Daylight, Mercy and Hoffa. Her ex-husband is Tom Noonan...
) feels too stressed to pay attention to him and lives in fear of getting caught in the path of her husband's wrath. His brother, about a year older, is normal and friendly, but offers no affirmative guidance. He mostly ignores Joe as he doesn't want the association of Joe's natural uncoolness ruining his attempts to get into the "in" crowd. Joe is taunted by his classmates, and hassled by creditors about his father's mounting bills. To make matters worse, one night when Bob goes off the deep end and smashes all of Theresa's records. In response to economic pressure, he takes a full-time job after school, leaving him tired and even less able to keep up with class work. Far worse, he becomes a petty thief to raise the money to pay Bob's bills and replace her records. He even does an insider job--robbing the diner where he works illegally.
Failing in school, Joe is assigned a Guidance counselor Len Coles (Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
), who, though reasonably friendly, is incompetent. (For example, in their first session, when Joe starts to talk about his problems, the counselor unthinkingly shuts him off). Disaster eventually strikes, and Joe faces the rest of his seemingly doomed life in doubt. Ironically, where he winds up next seems more like hope than tragedy. Perhaps a chance to get away from his horrible childhood and family.
Trivia
- This film marks Frank Whaley's directorial debut. Whaley himself has referred to this movie as "semi-autobiographical." For the childhood of him and his older brother, Robert.
- John Leguizamo was originally set to direct the film, but after being cast as Jorge as well as serving as executive producer, Frank Whaley stepped in as director as well as staying on as a producer.
- Whaley has a director's cameo as one of the residents of the town Bob owes money to. He's the unnamed mustachioed man in the scene where Joe is watching his father being pushed and yelled at right near their home.
- Val Kilmer gained a significant amount of weight for his role as an abusive alcoholic father.
- Near the end of the movie where Henry is making an attempt to tell Joe how much he really cares, the lullaby music coming from the ice cream truck was unintentional. But Whaley liked the way it played in the scene, so he left it in.