KING KNIGHT (2021)

Studio:     XYZ Films
Director:    Richard Bates Jr.
Writer:     Richard Bates Jr.
Producer:  Rob Higginbotham, Colin Tanner, Richard Bates Jr.
Stars:     Matthew Gray Gubler, Angela Sarafyan, Andy Milonakis, Kate Comer, Johnny Pemberton, Josh Fadem, Nelson Franklin, Emily Chang, Barbara Crampton, Ray Wise

Review Score:

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Summary:

When his high school reunion forces him to confront his conformist past, a disillusioned Wiccan goes on a walkabout to rediscover his identity.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

As admired leaders of their Wiccan coven, Thorn and his life partner Willow provide couples counseling for eccentric coven members Desmond and Neptune, Percival and Rowena, and Angus and Echo. Thorn routinely pressures Willow with his desire to start a family, but Willow remains hesitant about having children.

On Thorn’s computer, Willow finds emails inviting Thorn to his 20-year reunion at Desert Dunes High School. Willow is horrified to learn that Thorn was a wholesome conformist who was class president, prom king, and voted Most Likely to Succeed. Willow confronts Thorn for the truth about his past. Thorn admits that his estranged mother Ruth forced him into a mainstream lifestyle while his grandmother was the only person who truly understood his desire to be different.

Although distraught by the revelation, Willow reconciles with Thorn. However, Willow reveals she rsvp’d for the reunion, which additionally means that, per tradition, Thorn will have to perform a dance at the event since he was class president.

Willow asks to meet Thorn’s mother. Thorn calls Ruth, and Willow discovers how mean the woman is when she berates her son for his Wiccan beliefs and warns he will humiliate himself if he shows his high school classmates that he became a failure.

Thorn reveals the truth about his high school days to the coven. Feeling betrayed, the coven votes to banish Thorn, so he goes on a walkabout at a Los Angeles park to reconsider his identity while Willow tries convincing the coven to forgive him.

While high on ayahuasca in the park, Thorn gets life advice from a seemingly sentient pinecone and a rock. A psychedelic vision of the wizard Merlin further motivates Thorn to assert agency over his life by dancing at the reunion. Thorn imagines a confrontation with an angry park ranger, but when he vanishes, the rock tells Thorn that the ranger was an imaginary invention of the ego dominating Thorn’s mind.

Thorn undergoes a psychological transformation in the restroom and emerges as a renewed man. Thorn then arranges a rideshare pool to travel to his hometown and discusses lasagna as a life metaphor with a fellow passenger on the way.

During Willow’s discussion with the coven, Desmond finally joins her in vouching for Thorn’s character. Desmond’s courage causes his boyfriend Neptune to confess he is actually straight while telling Desmond he deserves a better man. Willow ultimately rallies the coven to support Thorn at the reunion so he doesn’t have to do his dance alone.

Upon arriving in his hometown, Thorn leaves a flaming bag of excrement on his mother’s doorstep. At the reunion, Thorn has odd run-ins with former classmate Nicholas Reed as well as Thorn’s former student government rival Alexandra Riley. Thorn delivers a strange speech prior to his ceremonial dance, but attendees merely roll their eyes and insult Thorn.

Thorn’s confidence renews when Willow arrives with the apologetic coven and they pledge themselves to his leadership. Desmond makes an unexpected romantic connection with Nicholas. Rowena and Echo recruit Alexandra to join the coven.

Thorn performs his dance. The dance arouses Willow so much that she immediately has sex with Thorn directly on the dance floor. The coven encircles the couple while reunion attendees leave in confused disgust. That night, Thorn leaves a voicemail for his mother to apologize for the flaming bag of poo and to invite Ruth and Thorn’s grandmother to a lasagna dinner.

Twelve new moons later, Thorn and Willow decide their coven needs new leadership, so Alexandra becomes the new high priestess. Having shed their egos, Thorn and Willow commit to raising their newborn son Knight.

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Review:

Maybe it’s a consequence of having covered so many similar projects by many of the same filmmakers for several years now. Or maybe it’s merely a consequence of general laziness. Whatever the reason, I seem to be growing increasingly comfortable with reviewing certain movies by simply saying, “Well, if you’re familiar with this director, then you already know what you’re in for, as well as whether or not his/her/their films are likely to put wind in your sails.”

Applicable to virtually any auteur, that sentiment absolutely applies to writer/director Richard Bates Jr. Bates has built a distinctive brand from his uniquely slanted style of social snapshotting couched in dark comedy with a side serving of horror. Starting with “Excision” and going all the way through “Tone-Deaf” (review here), Bates makes casual observations about maturing in the new millennium through quietly quirky characters who have to navigate a tilted reality ruled by ego and ennui. If they’re not fixing a fractured familial bond or managing a misfit romance, at a minimum you can expect to see Bates’ protagonists meeting more than a few weirdos on their journeys of self-discovery. And, to paraphrase myself, these offbeat adventures in mirthful misery either float your boat or they don’t.

“King Knight” fits the description above. Unlike Bates’ previous efforts however, this one contains nary a hint of horror, unless you stretch to count a mean mother (Barbara Crampton) conflating Wicca with Satanism as being in that realm. “King Knight” is pretty much purely a dramatic comedy aimed at people who can relate to reckoning with a particular kind of identity crisis during the twilight of their thirties.

Right away you realize “King Knight” deals in interpersonal interactions more than in cinematic staging because 12 minutes go by before a plot even begins taking a vague shape. At the outset we’re introduced to Thorn (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Willow (Amanda Sarafyan), committed life partners and leaders of an eccentric coven of weekend warrior Wiccans. Through a series of comical couples counseling sessions conducted by the duo, we additionally meet bickering boyfriends Desmond and Neptune, visually mismatched Percival and Rowena, and Angus and Echo.

Once these seated skits of character-creating chitchat run their course, the movie moves on to its meat. Namely, Thorn’s upcoming 20-year high school reunion. To Willow’s disgusted shock, the event’s email invitation exposes Thorn’s secret shame. Although he now dresses in black, sports tattoos, and practices meditative witchcraft, Thorn used to be a lacrosse-playing conformist who was prom king, class president, and voted Most Likely to Succeed.

Willow comes to terms with Thorn’s “problematic” past, but their coven is less forgiving of the revelation that Thorn once led a stereotypically suburban lifestyle. Being banished from the fold causes Thorn to reconsider how his impression of himself matches up to the reality while on a walkabout in a Los Angeles Park. He’s also tripping on ayahuasca during his hallucinogenic hike, which leads to imaginary encounters with a sentient pinecone, a talking rock, and the legendary wizard Merlin, played with amusing aplomb by a scenery-swallowing Ray Wise.

I have a shameful secret of my own to confess. I didn’t laugh one single time throughout the entirety of “King Knight.” As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I ever so much as cracked a faint smirk either.

That’s not to say I couldn’t see, or even appreciate, how Bates and his cast satirize poseur paganism and hypocrite culture by likening New Age nonsense to any other form of popularly appropriated idolatry. I was never annoyed by the humor like I sometimes am when a comedy doesn’t connect. As little punchlines glanced off my disinterest, I didn’t think to myself, “I don’t get how anyone would find this entertaining.” Instead, I merely came to the realization that “King Knight’s” comedic commentary wasn’t “bad,” it just wasn’t right for me.

“King Knight” feels less purposeful, more like an ambling ramble, than previous Richard Bates Jr. movies that double as diary entries for certain stages of life. I’m several years removed from a point in time when reunion anxiety might cause me to question the combined value of decisions that molded the perception of my personality. I’m not sure that airy gags about rose quartz dildos, a dog named ‘Women’s Rights,’ or birdbath salesmen offer enlightening perspective on that topic with any more seriousness than the movie’s mantra of “Everyone has poo in their butts … even Juliette Binoche.” Maybe that’s the film’s point? Maybe it will mean more to you?

In her sound bite summary of “King Knight” on social media, Rebekah McKendry mused that Ricky Bates reminds us, “everything sucks and nothing should be taken seriously.” I couldn’t have said it better myself, which is why I stole it from McKendry. That’s one more sentiment, the latter part anyway, that possibly applies to “King Knight,” although the movie’s message contends that if nothing else, we should definitely apply it to ourselves.

Review Score: 50

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