Joe the King
Joe the King | |
---|---|
Directed by | Frank Whaley |
Written by | Frank Whaley |
Produced by | Jennifer Dewis Scott Macaulay Lindsay Marx Robin O'Hara |
Starring | |
Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
Release date | January 22, 1999 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Joe the King is a 1999
Plot
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (October 2022) |
The story takes place in
In response to economic pressure, Joe takes a full-time job after school at a nearby diner, leaving him tired and even less able to keep up with class work. Because he is
Throughout the movie, Joe is engages in
After his shift, he sneaks in through an upstairs window and ransacks the apartment, looking for a locked metal box that was previously shown to contain a large quantity of cash. Joe finds the box but then catches a glimpse of himself in a doorway mirror. Horrified at what he has become, he kicks the mirror in and badly cuts his leg. Though injured, he escapes before another one of his bosses, an older man named Roy who is drunkenly making his way back to the apartment to retrieve his house keys, can catch him.
The next day, as Joe arrives at the diner to start his shift, Jorge smokes outside and stares at Joe suspiciously, then proceeds to angrily inform Joe that he knows Joe who broke into the diner and stole the money. Sticking up for Joe as usual, however, he says he will tell no one that Joe was responsible. Jorge then tells him to not worry about getting caught, as Jerry and Mary believe Mary's ex-husband was responsible and Roy, being so
Using the stolen money, Joe buys brand new copies of Theresa's records destroyed by Bob and stores them in a space beneath his house with an enveloped note for his mother. Joe's plan ultimately goes south when he tells of his deed to his friend Ray, who tells Leonard that Joe works at the diner, prompting a concerned Leonard to call the diner and speak to Jerry. Coles threatens to report Jerry and the others for illegally employing Joe if they don't cease doing so immediately. Jerry complies, but then after Leonard unwittingly reveals to him that Joe injured himself while working there by cutting his leg, Jerry deduces that Joe committed the robbery and calls the police.
Joe is subsequently arrested and sentenced to a juvenile detention center for six months. Later, as Bob drives Joe to the bus bound for the center, the father uncharacteristically offers Joe his condolences and advice about not making poor decisions in life and ending up a loser like Bob. Joe exits the car. Bob offers Joe a ride but his son chooses to take the bus. Bob tells Joe that he loves him, stunning his son. Joe boards the bus. The film ends with Joe walking down the hallway of the detention center with a look of grave uncertainty on his face.[3]
Production
Whaley used French New Wave films as main models, especially The 400 Blows.[4]
Leguizamo, who was also the executive producer, filmed his scenes for three days between Staten Island and the Broadway theater where his one-man show Freak was being staged.[5]
Cast
- Noah Fleiss as Joe Henry
- Max Ligosh as Mike Henry, Joe's older brother
- Val Kilmer as Bob Henry, Joe's father
- Karen Young as Theresa Henry, Joe's mother
- James Costa as Ray
- John Leguizamo as Jorge
- Ethan Hawke as Leonard Coles
- Richard Bright as Roy
- Robert Whaley as Jerry
- Amy Wright as Mary
- Camryn Manheim as Mrs. Basil
References
- ^ "Joe the King (1999)". TVGuide.com.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (October 22, 1999). "Joe The King movie review & film summary (1999)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (January 26, 1999). "Joe the King". Variety. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Wilmington, Michael (October 22, 1999). "'Joe the King' a Growing-up Story with Depth". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 9, 2022.
- ^ Durbin, Karen (November 20, 1999). "Growing up the son of an abusive alcoholic father made Joe the King director Frank Whaley a young . . ". The Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.