User reviews

Featured at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival, the directorial debut from the talented actor Frank Whaley "Joe The King" was introduced by Frank's long-time friend Ethan Hawke and the film's main actor Noah Fleiss. Ethan explained that Frank and he had been the best of friends since their work on "A Midnight Clear" together. Frank couldn't present the film because he was only just getting into Toronto at the airport but happily agreed to a Q&A afterwards.

The film portrays with stunning clarity a bleak period in the life of Joe, a fourteen year old boy from a lower class neighbourhood whose father is an alcoholic and works as a janitor in Joe's school. Joe works in a restaurant after school and in all aspects of his life he's surrounded by people who look down on him, talk down to him and sometimes beat on him. It's very difficult to not feel sorry for someone like Joe, he'll likely break your heart. Many of us may have bad childhoods or perhaps recall them as such, but for most, this film will give you reason to feel lucky and fortunate whatever your situation was.

There's not so much a story as there is a stringing together of vignettes of a hellish childhood that brings an authentic feel to each and every aspect of the film. While the film does move along quite slowly, each performance given is a strong building block to assemble what ultimately seems to be an autobiographical account. The world that Joe lives in is so fully constructed and detailed that it's easy to forget you're watching a film and not a documentary.

What was revealed in the Q&A afterwards, was that Whaley wrote this film as a conglomerate of his brother and his own experiences growing up. A statement he almost reluctantly offers, explaining that the original title of the film was named for the street where he grew up. Out of respect for his mother they chose "Joe The King" which turns out to be a fairly arbitrary title. "I hope you're not telling people it's autobiographical," as he mimics his mother's concerned sentiment, at which point he shares that he hopes she never sees the film as it may prove too painful for her.

While the film is not based on a true story per se, that is not what is most relevant. What Joe goes through on a daily basis is what this story is about, what is likely to stir you, and not the pivotal event in the later part of the film. And as a young Joe looks into the camera at the end of the film, holding there for a moment. The question that haunts the viewer is, "What will become of young Joe The King?" The answer stood before us with a microphone in hand, fielding answers from an intrigued audience. Frank Whaley himself is the affirmation to his own film.

Frank in his usual charming way answered questions with enthusiasm and humour at one point recounting the casting of the film. As an actor for many years he has had the pleasure of working with numerous gifted individuals and many of these faces appear in the film. He had more difficulty with casting the younger element of the film as he explained that he "doesn't know any kids". He couldn't have asked for a better young lead than Noah Fleiss to play so convincingly Joe the King. And while I don't see this film breaking box office records or even flying off the video stands due to its depressing, sombre nature, I do believe it will be very meaningful to some people and for others prove how lucky they really are.

My second favorite genre of movies to watch are coming of age movies. This is one of the best I've seen since Stand By Me. There are few other films similar that I'm going to revisit again soon.

All of the actors/characters are great in this. Val Kilmer did a really good job playing an abusive father. Noah Fleiss (Joe) was amazing in this. He was very believable. I actually felt bad for him throughout the movie.

When Ethan Hawke came in, I was hoping that he'd help Joe turn his life around and adopt him and his brother. But what we got is just as good. The mother who was played by Karen Young was great in this as well. And of course Joe's brother Mike, who was also really good in this!

The ending was good and well written. Although, this is definitely one of those movies that could have been longer. I would have liked to have seen what happens to Joe in the juvenile facility and after his six months is up.



The negatives: 1. Joe's friend Ray kind of bugged me a few times. And 2. It needed to be much longer.

Overall, really good film. I highly recommend it! The next coming of age film I plan on reviewing is "King Jack". I will then make a list of the coming of age films I've seen ranked.

I've always been a huge fan of Frank Whaley, and I've always found him to be one of the most under-appreciated, really great actors to have emerged in the 1990s. Here in his directorial debut, Whaley paints a deeply moving portrait of a troubled family floundering at the poverty level. Young Noah Fleiss is absolutely heart-breaking as the morally corrupt child of an abusing father, played by Val Kilmer in his most earnest dramatic role. Whaley's movie, drawn from his own life, is a touching, moving indie that should have gotten better notice.

This movie highlights the horrible effects a dysfunctional family life has on a child. Can we really blame juvenile delinquents for their actions? Or are they the product of their environment? Noah Fleiss did a sensitive portrayal of a boy trapped in impossible circumstances. Yet, remarkably so, he was a strong boy, able to withstand the stabs from his father and non-supportive mother, ultimately landing in very serious trouble for trying to do good.

I remember a kid at my elementary school named Anthony. He was a quiet kid, kind of dumb, or lazy. He wore thrift store clothes and reeked of cigarette smoke. One time this kid stole my jacket and was wearing it a few days later at school. He'd crossed my name and address out of the inside tag. I think he got suspended for it. After watching this movie and thinking back, I'd wished I'd let him keep it. This film is hauntingly realistic of those kids in school who weren't like the rest of us. What we didn't know at the time about these kids, were that they came from lousy homes; their parents weren't much of parents, and they really had no way of knowing right from wrong. The movie was quite thought provoking, bringing me back to my elementary and middle school days, and finally gave me empathy for Anthony. God only knows where he is now.

Joe Henry, the 'Joe' of the title, is a very troubled 14-year-old. His father is the school janitor, a deep-in-debt alcoholic who has no love for his two sons. Joe's Mom is a mess, trying hard to hold the family together only to find it slipping apart. Joe's older brother tries to help, but it's hard enough for him to keep his own head above water. So Joe is alone; drifting through a white trash sub-culture where the avenues to a 'straight' life are blocked and those to the criminal life are wide open. Where will it lead?

For-pay critics have denigrated the autobiographical screenplay as self-pitying and whining. I didn't see it that way. Self-centered, sure; just think about the title. It's all about Joe, by Joe. And isn't self-pity an emotion closely associated with the teen years? And to be honest, Joe deserves a little self pity; his life is crap. And this comes across very strongly in the film. It's effective and believable, helped by good screenwriting, direction and acting. Joe the King is not a great movie, but nor is it as mediocre as the critics described. I enjoyed it.

As I watched this brilliant film by Frank Whaley, I found myself more and more, examining crime in general. Certainly there are more than a few people that think convicts are born bad and should do the max. However, this film shows under what conditions criminals are made and you know what, it is not always their fault. I know this sounds like liberal claptrap, but I believe it true. In this movie, we see a young man that literally has nothing. An abusive, alcoholic father that is rarely around, unless he is there to smack him around. A mother that can't manage her own affairs, much less anybody elses'. An odd brother that generally only thinks of himself. Then we have our main character who strives to make a go of it and bring them together. He is good and caring, but he is too young to provide for everybody. The family is destitute and will never be the uniting force it needs to be for the betterment of our main character's life. . Our character is uneducated and left to fend on his own, inevitably he turns to crime. Gripping movie that I could not break away from. Highly recommended.

"Joe the King", was a king above the fools in the world.

Adults have such a self centered way of the expectation of kid's motives and actions without considering the very basic situation they are coming from and this film confirms how stupid people really are. The school admin and teachers all knew very well about Joe's father, "you're just like your father", so the kid was labeled the first day he walked into that school as a loser. He was the school's scape goat.

We like to believe our children are getting a constructive education and not a confession of home life humiliation. As a result, this wacko so-called teacher exercises her ego, hatred and anguish of her own life on his bare butt by spanking him in front of a shocked audience of classmates. Corporal punishment is sick but I guarantee mental tearing a child apart in front of peers happens everyday and is the most devastating of all. Sadly enough, Joe gets no support from mom or dad; just more emotional gouging. Gets me thinking, there are no bad kids, mainly bad adults who take their disappointed failures in their own lives out on less powerful people, especially kids.

But you see how resilient Joe is. He just goes on living by his own kind of structure and I'm thinking, he's gonna blow, throughout the movie, but he is amazing. This kid had great potential, he just needed support, understanding, involvement and trust.

We all need to stop and listen, there is a little bit of Joe in all of us.

Ever wind up watching an entire movie that stinks only because you keep hoping (against all hope) that it will get better, or at least have a point? Thus was the case for me with "Joe the King," a lethargic, pointless film that offers virtually nothing in the way of revelation or entertainment. I swear, people who praise this film must be trying to rationalize wasting their time on it.

After enduring this snoozefest, I just knew that Frank Whaley had never written or directed before. It was completely obvious. Whaley ruins his film with a first-draft caliber script and stale, unimaginative direction that even a film-school novice would laugh at.

Had the dialogue and direction been better, well, you'd still have nothing. Even a story about a miserable small-town kid with a crummy home life does not justify the slug-in-quicksand pace that squeezes the life from this film. I've enjoyed films before that develop slowly, but this one never develops. I kept thinking, "Pick...it...up!!!!!"

As if this movie needs more flaws, the acting bordered on the criminal. Again, no big surprise to discover (thanks to IMDB) that Ethan Hawke is friends with Whaley, as it's the only possible reason I could imagine he'd agree to be in this clunker. But don't worry. He doesn't try too hard. No one does. Val Kilmer works straight from the Lifetime Network 101 playbook of alcoholic fathers/husbands. He curses. He breaks stuff. He smacks his family around. He belittles them. And then, toward the end, he has one brief moment of lucidity where we're supposed to understand that he realizes he's a bad man. Who cares? And the kid in the title role might have been trying to convey hopelessness, but all he exudes is apathy.

Two closing thoughts: First, my wife watched the first half-hour with me, then opted to take a nap. She made the smarter choice, and I'm being serious. Second, if I'm already mad about wasting time watching the film, why did I waste more time writing about it? In the hopes that YOU wouldn't waste your time the same way. Seriously, avoid.

This movie came as a total surprise the other night. Intrigued with the prospect of watching Frank Whalley's take on the film, we decided to watch and it paid off royally. Mr. Whalley has learned his lesson well, both in front, and behind the camera. Frank Whalley is a man capable of getting a lot out of his cast, having been in that position himself.

The film is a disturbing account on a family that appears to be beyond dysfunctional. The father, Bob Henry, is a man that life has passed him by and has sought company with the bottle; he is the janitor in his children's school. As seems to be the case with men in this situation, Bob vents his frustrations with whoever crosses him, as we watch in horror the way he beats his wife.

Joe, the sensitive young son, is ridiculed in school by a teacher at a tender age, where compassion for his state in life would have worked better. As he grows, he becomes a a young man that will do whatever in order to get what he wants. He begins stealing from the stores he is sent on errands as well as from the restaurant where he is employed as a dishwasher. We watch him as he eats hungrily the leftovers that come his way before washing those plates. Eventually, Joe will go to stealing from his boss and getting into trouble that will scar him for life. The only kindness Joe receives is from the teacher counselor in his school.

The best achievement for the director is the acting quality he gets from his cast. Noah Fleiss, who portrays Joe, is the best thing in the film. He is a young talent to watch. Val Kilmer is seen as the father who seems to live in a permanent fog caused by his heavy drinking. Karen Young is Theresa, the suffering wife. Ethan Hawke plays the kind hearted teacher and Camryn Manheim is the horrible one.

"Joe the King" deserves a viewing because of the excellent direction of Frank Whalley.

"Joe the King" was described as a semi-autobiographical work by Frank Whaley. That's why I was surprised when I heard the DVD commentary, and Whaley didn't mention anything relating to his own childhood. No "this character is based on..." or "this scene was based the time when I..." But maybe he just didn't feel like revealing that information. Because the kind of pain the main character experiences throughout the story must be at least somewhat genuine. It must've been drawn from some sort of real-life experiences.

I'm often a sucker for movies like "This Boy's Life" and "A Bronx Tale," about young ones growing up with troubled childhoods. So I expected to embrace this film. At first I found the movie highly compelling. After a while, I began to lose my emotional connection with the characters. That's when I realized that the drama in the film is pretty much one-sided.

I think Roger Ebert hit the nail right on the head when he said, and I'm paraphrasing, "The movie is so steeped in resentment that we never get a chance to see this child behind his shield of misery." We never get a sense of his hopes and dreams, and what he does to try to overcome these unfortunate incidents. I didn't have a troubled childhood, so I'm not speaking from experience, but the boy should've found some sort of salvation. Maybe through books, maybe through music. What I gathered was he was fascinated by blues music, but the music itself wasn't his salvation.

Every adult character seems to be portrayed as an out-and-out heavy. There are a few scenes where the father and mother display subtle hints of emotion, though there certainly could've been more, but the rest of the characters are as evil as comic book villains. Even the local pawnbroker seems to have it out for Joe. I'm sure one of the elders treated him nice at least a few times in his life.

One of the most heavy-handed scenes is when the teacher asks Joe to tell the class the occupations of his parents. His father is the school janitor, so naturally he doesn't want it to be revealed. The teacher torments him until he finally reveals it. When he does, a girl in class laughs at him and he rightfully throws a pencil at her head. The teacher calls him to the front of the class, pulls down his pants and paddles his rear end. Now, what public school on earth has teachers who are allowed to abuse their students like that? I know in other countries they still do that, but not in America. In real life, Joe could've ran to the principal's office to report the abuse and they would've dragged that teacher out the school. This is an example of Whaley trying too hard to gain the audience's sympathy.

The performances are good for the most part. Val Kilmer does a fine acting job and shows that if he weren't so damn difficult to deal with, he'd have a lot more parts. The only performance I must criticize is that of Noah Fleiss. He's definitely not a bad actor, and you can do much worse in the child actor department, but he's only OK. He doesn't display a large range of emotions like, say, Haley Joel Osment. And that's not good since the film centers on Fleiss and he is the glue who holds the film together.

And I also must establish that it's never revealed why the character is given the nickname "Joe the King." This is not a bad film, and it is compelling to a degree, but if Whaley paid more attention to the mechanics of the narrative, it could've been a lot more powerful, like "This Boy's Life" or "A Bronx Tale."

My score: 6 (out of 10)

A coming-of-age story with some twists: almost every adult seems to be arrayed against young Joe, who finds little other solace in the world. The movie begins with a false note -- at least it sounded false -- with 9 year-old Joe graphically humiliated by his teacher. Almost every adult in the film fails Joe. There are some amusing moments in this too-long, supposedly autobiographical movie, but far too few.

In the past 24 hours I've read "The Body" then watched "Stand By Me"; read "Sleepers" then went to rent the film at a local store. I spent a good while searching for their one copy, then drifted to the comedy section to pick up something light for afters. Spying a film with Kilmer's name on the cover, I picked up "Joe The King", & wondered if Kilmer'd gone back to his comedy roots. Ha! The only thing funny is how some joker stashed this stale downer in the comedy section!

I popped in the video after finishing Sleepers and was amazed to find myself watching yet another decade of tortured boyhood. 50's, 60's, 70's, none of it fit in a "Happy Days" world. Now, thirty years on, and I wonder what horror stories the 80's and 90's have bred and who will get the funding to tell us all about it.

"Joe the King" doesn't quite work, for several reasons, least of which is the fact we can't really feel for him. Where are the likable characters? In every life, there are some, and films demand at least one or two. In this film, all the adults are mean or obtuse, oblivious to anyone but themselves. Whaley gave us stereotypes and the actors weren't challenged beyond them. John Leguizamo's character is a bright spot, but realism is blown by him not taking the kid's age into account. In real life he wouldnta talked to him like a balling, boozing buddy, the kid looks to be only 12 or so. Ethan Hawke could have made a difference if he had put in a little effort... showing his sandaled feet bypasses character development, implying warmth and understanding, but the gimmick is wasted by the flatness of his character. His not knowing what "pithy" means blows his credibility as an educated man in a position of power in a school. Gimme a break!

Some scenes are heavy-handed, some merely sketched. (And what is the deal with Kilmer's mega-elbow?? It is framed for viewing, so why?) The level of back talk and profanity is also wrong for the era. Kids mighta had filthy mouths with each other, but exchanges with adults would have left them dusting off their pants after a quick trip to the floor. The title is not explained, and there is nothing at all to suggest why Joe is a King. His peeing in the food makes scant sense when he doesn't even tell his brother about it to ease his suffering.

Music could have been a saving grace, but it is barely explored. This is a depressing film that may have exorcised somebody's demons, at least I hope it did. Basically, though, this film lacks respect, for its characters, its premise, and ultimately, for us.

This movie reminds me a lot of Truffaut's 'The 400 Blows' in dealing with a neglected child just looking for a bit of affection, but getting nothing but childhood pangs at every turn.

What we have here is a rather depressing story of a young boy (Fliess) living with his absentee mother, his older brother, and his drunk and abusive father (Kilmer). So, expect trouble in a situation like this. And, aware of this trouble, a guidance counselor (Hawke) tries to help out the young student.

I was surprised to learn that this was is a semi-autobiographical tale of Frank Whaley as this, judging by his other pictures, doesn't seem like the kind of Frank Whaley childhood I had imagined. And, I wonder just how much of it does derive from his own experiences.

For me, this subject that Whaley has chosen of childhood escapism, seems to fall into a long line of similar movies like 'The 400 Blows,' 'Igby Goes Down,' and 'The Adventures of Sebastian Cole.' I think Whaley did a good job with this movie, 'Joe the King' and it encouraged me to seek out more films, if any, that he has directed. I recommend seeing it.

I think it's a good film overall, but I have to acknowledge quite a few flaws. I'd like to start with the beginning of the film, which is frankly impactful, with a teacher as a character who announces a film based on power relations. But this introduction unfortunately doesn't live up to its promise. We become very attached to the character. We follow him throughout his daily life, but there's little interaction with his parents, and little interaction with new characters. We had some hope with the guidance counselor's intervention, but there too, the promise isn't kept. This film is promising; it has ideas, is well-executed, and convincing acting. Where it falls short is the weakness of the relationships/interactions, the pathos of the father and mother, which adds nothing to the action. It's a real shame. That said, it's still a film that's worth watching. So I give it 6 stars out of 10.

I came across this film almost by accident. I have a habit of searching the IMDB for other films of actors and actresses whose performances I have enjoyed. So it was that I saw the promise of Noah Fleiss, as shown in Josh and S.A.M., bloom to fruition in his mature performance in this wonderful film.

Joe is a youngster living in poverty and deprived of love. He is brutalised and humiliated by his teacher and by his drunken father. Only his favoured brother, Mike and a similarly love-starved friend, and eventually a concerned counsellor (Ethan Hawke) lend him any support. Remarkably Joe is totally unselfish and, having slaved to earn cash just to survive and to improve the lives of those close to him, he is gradually driven more and more into crime.

I watched this film with two friends and the three of us were so captivated by this touching story that none of us moved or uttered a word until long after the credits had finished rolling. When the silence was broken it was with the words "Wow! How good was that?" Remember the name, Noah Fleiss, because he is destined to be a star.

it addresses the appropriate role of parent even under hardership. the message from this moive is a little blur particularly at the end. bob deplores about his son, joe though. the movie is supposed to describe a little detail of every one around joe.

Whenever I watch a film like Frank Whaley's Joe the King, it reminds me how grateful I am to have the family I have, the opportunities I have, the privileges I have, and the love had for me. After spending one-hundred minutes with a kid who has almost nothing, I think about myself, and how I have so much more than I can ever want, no so much about the tangible things, but the intangibles like unconditional love, incredible academic opportunities, and a whirlwind of support for what I do. Counting these blessings only becomes easier after witnessing a film like Joe the King.

The film stars Noah Fleiss as the titular character, a fourteen-year-old who has spent his life victim to physical and emotional abuse by his violent, alcoholic father Bob (Val Kilmer) and his short-tempered mother Theresa (Karen Young), who doesn't make up for the lack of attention brought on by his father. Joe's brother is rather kind to Joe, never threatening or unnecessarily assertive, but still lacks that kind of warmth and love that Joe desperately needs in his life. Taunted by his classmates because his father works as a janitor, harassed by drug dealers who are threatening his life because his father won't pay his debts, and left to his own devices, Joe takes on a quiet life of crime, conducting petty heists and stealing from local residents in order to obtain the money he needs. Unlike most kids his age, Joe has a job, which is a cook and bus-boy in a sketchy restaurant. Joe works to buy his mother all the vinyls his father trashed in a drunken rage, while also trying to keep his criminal profile as subtle as it can be without him getting caught.

The idea behind Joe the King is incredibly intriguing, focusing on a young boy who, through all the abuse and neglect, still loves and deeply cares for his parents, which is a rarity in these kinds of films. Normally, we see a young boy or girl hating their parents for putting them under these conditions, which is very understandable. However, Joe's desire to help his dad out personally and repay his mother for something he had no involvement in makes Joe the King unique in the department of coming of age films.

Fleiss is great as Joe, clearly possessing the traits of an actor who can show no emotion or a lot of it, depending on what the scene calls for. Assisted by the likes of Kilmer and Young, he can really do no wrong, showing what life is like being a young boy with little to rely on and no one to trust. Even his guidance counselor (Ethan Hawke) bears a frustrating emptiness in Joe's mind, really proving to himself that he can't trust anyone and only has himself to rely on.

The only issue with the writing (done by Whaley himself) is that the film spends too much time on Joe, so much so that the supporting characters in his life are subtly developed and only given vague and rather broad stereotypes to work off of. Because of this, no one besides Joe really receives development in the film and that's an issue for a film looking to develop multiple different characters in multiple different situations.

Despite this, Whaley overcomes the film's largest task, which is make a character who does wrong, morally reprehensible things sympathetic and emotionally honest, a feat that remains consistent throughout the film. Whaley treads a fine line between committing contemptible actions as a poor, loathsome character and having sympathy for the offender nicely, making Joe a surprisingly sympathetic soul throughout the entire film. Consistently we recognize that he is a good soul doing bad things in order to stay moderately afloat, which is what makes the film strong and stable.

With three directorial efforts under his belt, and a fourth one on the way, Whaley proves that he enjoys glaringly flawed characters, who consistently try to do good by doing bad, which immediately makes for an intriguing story. Lifted up by fantastic performances by everyone involved and a biting, almost unshakeable amount of emotional leverage, Joe the King is equal parts upsetting as it is moving, which, for a first time director, is difficult to achieve. However, Whaley handles the challenge like a true directing veteran.

Starring: Noah Fleiss, Val Kilmer, Karen Young, and Ethan Hawke. Directed by: Frank Whaley.

If anyone out there believes that this directorial debut of Frank Whaley is "AMATEURISH", let's just see what you can do with a camera and budget that won't pay for your daily life. Don't judge about movies, only give your opinion. I don't believe amateurish is even a word. You best watch the movie again and make sure it isn't on an amateur level. I do believe folks out there couldn't make a well made movie with a budget as low as Whaley had for this movie.

Maybe try something like,

"this movie seemed to have some realism to the story, and yet I haven't lived a life like that young man, I do believe that this could happen."

No judgment calls on movies, you liked it or you didn't. Oh and by the way this movie is well thought out, and well organized. Under the circumstances, it hit a home-run at our house. Being from Austin, TX where the "STARS" are bright, and not the ones in the sky, the ones from Hollywood, you sure can get a sense of realism and learn how to discuss movies. Ethan Hawke would know something about that since he comes from the same city as I do.

Watch this movie, you truly will like it.

This is a well intentioned but dismally dull and wretchedly written indie exercise in lower working class experience. Actor Frank Whaley's directorial debut is an ambitious but unsuccessful look at a teenager's coming of age in a 1970s slacker neighborhood. No doubt autobiographical to some degree, the movie sets up a somewhat cliched conflict between alienated teen and his drunken lout of a father (Val Kilmer). This got some good reviews but I bailed out after an hour, wondering how it managed them. I felt like I had seen it all before.

Joe the King is about a boy, who having been raised in a broken home with an abusive drunken dad and absent mom, heads the wrong path by stealing ever bigger things and eventually having to face the consequences for it. His only salvation is the crack that has opened between him and his parents, and the humanistic nature to do good in him that has been so overcome by the other things in his daily life.

We're shown Joe coming from a broken home, which is pretty standard in these kinds of movies. That resulted in a boy that doesn't conform to the general crowd and is often confrontational. Stealing doesn't even become a moral issue anymore for him, but an opportunistic one. In the course of the film, we learn that Joe is not stealing for self-fulfillment, but is often out of necessity due to hunger. What we gradually learn is that it is also due to him having a heart deep down inside him, in which he yearns to show his feelings in the only way he can. Instances like giving away most of the ho-ho's that he just stole to a bunch of hungry kids than gathered around him, to him going out of his way to steal food from the grease spoon joint that he works in so that his brother won't go hungry, along with doing the big heist to pay off his forever in-debt father and replace all his mom's records, which were broken in one of his father's drunken rage. At the same time, he rides that bike that is on its last leg, and keeps on wearing those sneakers that are beyond worn out. This is probably why Joe is the King, although reference to it does not indicate why or implies otherwise.

His relationship with his parents is the type where only the basic things are said to each other. His parents, who are so pre-occupied, either being drunk or working to support the family, forgot to realize that the kids needs more than just a roof to live under and barely enough food in the stomach. There is this assumption by the mom that the kids would somehow turn out all right, as long as there is the bare minimal amount parenting involved. Joe yearns for more affection from them, but they do not provide any, and he doesn't know how to open up for it.

In the end, on Joe's last day of freedom, we see a glimpse of hope in him. His yearning for a family truly shows, he tries to go all out on his last meal but cannot indulge on it. And on the final goodbye between him and his parents, the emotional door opens slightly. He still have mountains of hurdle ahead, but the light at the end of the tunnel have gotten a bit brighter.

The movie takes its time telling the story without forcing the big event to happen until the characters are fully developed. Although the event that sends him away does might have been anticlimactic, this is probably due to our assumption that he is heading that way already, and the fact that there is nothing out in the real world for him anyway. It is his self-realization of himself and redemption that has more of significance.

The film does not try to sentimentalize anything, everything is told as is. The acting by Noah Fleiss, playing Joe was very realistic, playing the boy who have never been loved. His mom, played by Karen Young, is really good. Her inability to communicate with Joe, but her feelings for him showing through in her distant expressions. His father, played by Val Kilmer, is mixed. The drunken violent man is played to the extreme, but he does allow the character to have subtleties at the end.

"Joe the King" is a slice-of-miserable-life flick about a boy from a dysfunctional family who steals. That's pretty much the premise, the plot, the story, the whole enchilada. This uneventful and seemingly pointless film is a good journeyman production in all respects with the exception of the story which is too pedestrian to be interesting and seems to have no moral, meaning, or message. One can only guess what Whaley was thinking when he made this klunker.