Joe the King is a 1999 drama film, written and directed by Frank Whaley, based largely on his own childhood. It stars Noah Fleiss, Val Kilmer, Karen Young, Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, Austin Pendleton, Max Ligosh and James Costa. The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
14-year-old Joe Henry (Noah Fleiss) has spent his life in an abusive household. His father Bob (Val Kilmer) is a ra...
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Joe the King is a 1999 drama film, written and directed by Frank Whaley, based largely on his own childhood. It stars Noah Fleiss, Val Kilmer, Karen Young, Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, Austin Pendleton, Max Ligosh and James Costa. The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
14-year-old Joe Henry (Noah Fleiss) 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. 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 records. In response to economic pressure, he takes a full-time job after school, leaving him tired...
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