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Joe the King

Play trailer Poster for Joe the King R Released Jan 22, 1999 1h 41m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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68% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A teen (Noah Fleiss) with an alcoholic, abusive father (Val Kilmer) and a harsh mother (Karen Young) turns to theft to vent his frustrations.
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Joe the King

Critics Reviews

View All (28) Critics Reviews
Globe and Mail Rated: 2.5/4 Mar 22, 2002 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Stephen Holden New York Times Rated: 2.5/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Michele James Out Magazine Perhaps the most hopeful note in this despondent yet beautifully poignant tale is that Whaley emerged to tell it. May 27, 2022 Full Review Brian Costello Common Sense Media Coming-of-age movie with mature themes, lots of profanity. Rated: 4/5 Jul 12, 2016 Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed Even with warts and all, "Joe the King" is a very worthwhile drama. Apr 21, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (64) audience reviews
Shock Therapy R Excellent character development that led to nowhere. Perhaps a documentary on why people, beginning in their youth, are incompatible with "civilized" society, but absolutely no story that is instructive or inspires thought outside the box within which we all live. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/03/23 Full Review Steve D Not sure who this drudgery was made for but it wasn't me. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review James V Go back and forth on this movie. I like the realistic elements, but that realism also makes it a boring film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Noah Fleiss makes a strong impression in Frank Whaley's exceedingly grim coming-of-age film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review scott m I remember seeing this on cable 10 years ago and I liked it. Story about a teen delinquent living a tough life. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member *Worst Movie . Im sorry to say but i hated this movie. The supporting characters don't support him or the story. he fails at everything and just winds up in juvy. That's the entire movie. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Joe the King

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Cast & Crew

Julien Donkey-Boy 29% 72% Julien Donkey-Boy Watchlist Bringing Out the Dead 73% 70% Bringing Out the Dead Watchlist King of the Jungle 24% 61% King of the Jungle Watchlist Spring Forward 88% 81% Spring Forward Watchlist Boogie Nights 94% 89% Boogie Nights Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A teen (Noah Fleiss) with an alcoholic, abusive father (Val Kilmer) and a harsh mother (Karen Young) turns to theft to vent his frustrations.
Director
Frank Whaley
Producer
Scott Macaulay, Lindsay Marx, Robin O'Hara
Screenwriter
Frank Whaley
Distributor
Trimark Pictures
Production Co
Lower East Side Films, 49th Parallel Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 22, 1999, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA)
$59.0K
Runtime
1h 41m
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