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Mentally ill Charlie (Michael Douglas) has just been released from an institution and into the care of his 16-year-old daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood). It’s up to her—as the responsible one in the relationship—to reign in his wild ideas, but when Charlie becomes convinced a Spanish treasure is buried in the area Miranda agrees to help him in his seemingly insane quest.

Big question: Can Douglas recapture the same dramatic comedy magic he conjured in “Wonder Boys,” his best performance in recent years?

Skip it: In his first film, writer/director Mike Cahill aims for the sort of quirky tone usually associated with the Coen Brothers or Wes Anderson. That creates the uncomfortable feeling of a serious mental illness played for laughs and causes Douglas’ broad performance to verge on embarrassing.

Catch it: For everything but the comedy. Douglas, Wood and Allisyn Ashley Arm (who plays a younger Miranda in flashbacks) create a genuine father/daughter bond for Charlie and Miranda that ground Cahill’s more facile touches in a welcome dose of emotional honesty.

Bottom line: “The King of California” really rules when it focuses on its two main characters and their complicated relationship. But the success of those sequences only underline how good the film might have been if it wasn’t so busy trying to be cute.

Bonus: Looking for a quick way to end an argument over whether you’re right or wrong (even if you don’t know which one you are)? Just do what Charlie does and tell your opponent to “look it up.”

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