King of California (M)

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there, so Charlie (Michael Douglas) fits right in. Just out of a mental hospital, he's moved in with his 16-year-old daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), who's looked after herself on her own for two years, and causes havoc.

A seemingly delusional dreamer, Charlie believes there's an old Spanish treasure buried nearby, and Miranda gets caught up in his quixotic quest to find it. When it turns out to be under the middle of a giant discount warehouse store, Charlie concocts a break-in plan to search with jackhammers for it.

This offbeat, whimsical, comic fable's story turns the usual parent-child situation on its head; here it's Miranda who becomes the caring, concerned parent and Charlie the reckless, crazy kid. 

And it's the relationship between the two that works better than the treasure hunt. A bearded, wild-eyed Douglas is entertainingly manic  but he's also so irresponsible and inconsiderate that it's a credit to Wood's performance for making Miranda's tolerance believable and touching.

• Reviewed by David Manning. DVDs for review supplied by United Video, Nelson.

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