Su majestad Ralph

I LOVE this movie! I know that when it came out it was largely ignored...by both the critics and the movie going public...but I found this film to be just simply fun to watch...a wonderful movie to just get caught up into. It has no pre-texts of social or political idealism. It doesn't try to solve the worlds problems with it's message. And it doesn't aim to make us, the viewers, think overly hard about where the movie is leading us. It does, however, present us with totally believable characters who we quickly become emotionally invested in. Sure the opening plot structure is contrived but that is half of the charm of the film's setup. It is a good absurd introduction to the twists of the movie.

I must confess, being half Cherokee Indian and half English, I was drawn to this movie if for no other reason than I had always heard about that half of my family's history and imagined who they were and how they lived. As an American, I have also fallen prey to my own sometimes myopic world view. King Ralph was an enjoyable way to contemplate the place that a monarchy holds in the hearts of their countrymen.

I don't believe that there is anything inherently wrong with having a movie that doesn't try to enlighten or enrage us. I have always felt that too often Hollywood tries to insert a message or moral slant to a project just because they believe that to not include one makes the movie seem shallow or silly. I say whats wrong with having just a fun movie? To me King Ralph was just such a movie. Of course it had smatterings of political overtones and touches of social commentary, but I feel that this was used to propel the story rather than to try and impart some deeper philosophical meaning to us.

It's not stupid, it's charming. A bit old-fashioned and corny, yes, but entertaining and amusing and well worth the time! I just saw this for the second time on cable TV and liked it just as much as the first time!

Goodman performs bravely and exquisitely as the good-hearted buffoon who overcomes the stuffiness and snobbishness of a group of bluebloods too good for their own bodily functions.

John Goodman stars as the title monarch in this royal comedy.

Ralph is a Las Vegas lounge singer badly in the need for some

moolah when a group of British councilmen approach him one night

and bear him the news that Ralph is the new king of England

after the whole royal family has been wiped out in a freak

accident! Reluctantly, Ralph takes the job. At first, he seems

like a fish out of water, the fact being that he is an American

first of all, and that he is also a total slob! Being king might

not be so good after all.

This movie is funny because Goodman does a nice job being a

lovable slob trying his best to be the royal figurehead of the

Britain. Peter O'Toole is also good as Willingham, the

aristocrat whose job is to look after the newly appoi

I wasn't sure whether King Ralph would be my style, seeing how much the critics panned it. But when I watched it, I was surprised at how much I liked it. It is not perfect, but one of the worst films ever? No, far from it. It is enjoyable, despite the sometimes weak script, uneven direction and one or two parts that felt rather slow and contrived. What redeems it though is the cast. John Goodman amiably bumbles his way through his role and gives some charm into a character that could have been bland and uninteresting, and Peter O'Toole and John Hurt seem to be having a whale of a time as the adviser and scheming courtier. Also, the film does actually look nice, the cinematography is good and the scenery is lovely. The soundtrack and score were enjoyable as well. Overall, it has its problems, but it isn't a bad film by all means. 7/10 Bethany Cox

When the entire British royal family is wiped out in an "awful" accident, the American bar entertainer Ralph Jones (excellent: John Goodman, he makes up for most of the boring parts of the plot) becomes the new King of England. After a few adjustment problems with his new job (clothing, manners etc.) he falls in love with a young woman he meets at a local strip club. Problems emerge when his secretary tries to marry him to the Finnish princess to seal a business deal for a few English companies. All in all, a good movie with some great lines but also some boring parts.