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King of the Jungle (2001)
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Reviews Counted: 17
Fresh: 4
Rotten:13
Average Rating: 4.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis:
What happens when society can no longer protect its innocents?
Seymour (John Leguizamo) dreams of becoming a NBA star like the members of his beloved NY Knicks team. Mentally challenged, he lives with his over-protective mother Mona...
What happens when society can no longer protect its innocents?
Seymour (John Leguizamo) dreams of becoming a NBA star like the members of his beloved NY Knicks team. Mentally challenged, he lives with his over-protective mother Mona (Julie Carmen) and her lover Joanne (Rosie Perez). Seymour's estranged alcoholic father, Jack (Cliff Gorman) berates him about not being a man and Seymour's only escape is to watch and play basketball at the neighborhood court.
When Mona is slain by a neighborhood thug, as a result of her work as a vocal social activist, Seymour is shattered. The only witness to the murder, Seymour goes looking for revenge.
As he roams the streets looking for the killer, Seymour's fragile emotional state continues to unravel. A violent encounter with the killer only heightens his lust for vengeance. When Seymour finds a gun in the home of his best friend, Francis (Michael Rapaport), it appears that he is destined to succumb to the code of the streets. He has become the King of the Jungle.
Concerned for Seymour's safety, Jack goes in search of his son. When they meet at the neighborhood court, Seymour and Jack engage in a dramatic confrontation. At stake is Seymour's nascent manhood and, ultimately his life.
KING OF THE JUNGLE stars John Leguizamo (Summer of Sam, Emmy Award winner, "Freak"), Rosie Perez (Riding in the Cars With Boys, Academy Award® nominee, Fearless), Annabella Sciorra (HBO's "The Sopranos," What Dreams May Come), Michael Rapaport (The 6th Day, Bamboozled, Men of Honor), Rosario Dawson (Josie and the Pussycats, Light it Up, He Got Game) and Marisa Tomei (What Women Want, The Watcher, Academy Award® winner, Best Supporting Actress, My Cousin Vinny). Julie Carmen and Cliff Gorman round out the award-winning ensemble cast.
Urbanworld Films presents KING OF THE JUNGLE, a Bombo Sports & Entertainment production in association with Forensic Films. The film is written and directed by acclaimed screenwriter and playwright Seth Zvi Rosenfeld. Christopher James and Steven E. Bram serve as co-producers. Bob Potter, Scott Macaulay and Robin O'Hara produce. John Leguizamo, Stacy Spikes, Jay Rifkin and Hans Zimmer serve as executive producers.
KING OF THE JUNGLE is rated R for strong language, some violence and drug content. -- © 2001 Urbanworld Films
Starring: John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Julie Carmen, Rosario Dawson
Starring: John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Julie Carmen, Rosario Dawson, Cliff Gorman, Justin Pierce, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Marisa Tomei
Director: Seth Zvi Rosenfeld
Director: Seth Zvi Rosenfeld
Screenwriter: Seth Zvi Rosenfeld
Producer: Hans Zimmer, Christopher James
Composer: Dan "The Automator" Nanamura
Studio: Urbanworld Films
Reviews for King of the Jungle
The basic problem with the film is that each of the fine actors appears to be working on a different project.
It's more than a little tiresome to see executive producer Leguizamo put himself through the tortured contortions of his character.
[Seymour's] story demands a larger meaning, a sense of the poetic, than mere heart-tugging can provide, but Rosenfeld cannot provide it.
Meanders with clumsy flashbacks, unexplored characters and relationships and a rushed, unsatisfying conclusion.
The fact is that given the talent involved, it should have been much better.
A hard, vibrant surface can't quite cover the mossy, skimpy center of this story.
Every clichéd cinematic device ... is spread out before the audience like a bad road map.
[Rosenfeld] finds a way to convey messiness that gives King an honest and particular heartbeat.
Features John Leguizamo in a tour de force 'rain man' performance as a mentally challenged 25-year-old
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