Hoping to foil his own gold-digging wife's plan, a loathsome businessman arranges his own kidnapping, only to realize that there are plenty of other people interested in his wealth as well.Hoping to foil his own gold-digging wife's plan, a loathsome businessman arranges his own kidnapping, only to realize that there are plenty of other people interested in his wealth as well.Hoping to foil his own gold-digging wife's plan, a loathsome businessman arranges his own kidnapping, only to realize that there are plenty of other people interested in his wealth as well.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Angela Drake
- (as Nicole Parker)
- Director
- Writer
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Anthony Anderson is always one of the highlights in every film he is in. I liked his goofy Louis persona in Kangaroo Jack, his idiotic antics in Malibu's Most Wanted stood out from the entire film, and most recently in Scream 4 he was a great addition to the cast. He's always stuck in movies that fail to achieve anything they are trying to achieve. He is a funny and energetic actor with instant recognition even with his respective weight-loss. I will say even in this poor comedy, he still manages to impress.
The film centers around an arrogant, self indulgent rich man named Malcolm King (Anderson). Upset his wife Renee (Smith) is divorcing him and is expected to get half his earnings, he fakes his own kidnapping, but a crazy fast-food employee (Mohr) and a mad employee (Parker) also want to kidnap him to teach him a lesson.
The first forty five minutes of the film are nothing but overacted events that showcase nothing but the film's hyper activity and craziness. I liked both Anderson and Mohr's characters, but their antics aren't as funny that I would even come close to recommend this at all.
The writer of King's Ransom was one of the many writers for one of my favorite television shows, Kenan & Kel. It seems the jokes could've worked in a twenty minute episode of a Nickelodeon, they absolutely do not work for a ninety seven minute movie that is nothing but one poorly done slap sticky joke after another barely saved by two likable actors.
Starring: Anthony Anderson, Jay Mohr, Donald Faison, Kellita Smith, Nicole Ari Parker, Charlie Murphy, Regina Hall, and Roger Cross. Directed by: Jeffrey W. Byrd.
FINAL VERDICT: I liked this. I thought it was OK for a comedy. Sure it was silly, but it was supposed to be. And Anthony Anderson is good like he usually is in comedies.
Any screenplay writer knows that you are suppose to set-up what's going on in the movie in the first 10 minutes. How about 20 minutes later I still didn't have a clue, then all of my friends and I walked out of a $10.00 movie!
I'm not even going to waste my time writing a plot review for this movie, because I didn't see the whole thing. Two words: IT SUCKS!
Save your money don't rent the DVD, wait for it to come on HBO or better yet wait 3 years until it comes on TBS and they will show it every day if they can edit the harsh language.
King's Ransom takes a harmless premise and turns it into a torturous experience. It is one of the worst attempts at comedy and it may be the first comedy ever that has failed to make the audience laugh at least once. It was like they weren't even trying to entertain the audience. I have to ask, what was the point? There was some potential in the premise and the cast wasn't terrible. However, the script fails the film at every turn and it was probably written by a five year old. It's just too bad this film wasn't meant for kids since they would have gotten more entertainment out of it. I would also be more forgiving if this was a kid's film.
The semi decent cast is wasted in this mess and nobody gives a good performance. Anthony Anderson gives a really bad performance as Malcolm King. He overacts like crazy and just ends up being really annoying. Regina Hall over did the airhead role and it got tired fast. Sadly, she probably gave the best performance out of everyone. Jay Mohr tried way too hard to be funny and it didn't work. Donald Faison and Kellita Smith should be ashamed for agreeing to appear in this piece of crap.
I believe the blame shouldn't only go to the screenwriter but to the director as well. Jeff Byrd does a really poor job at directing and he seems to be trying too hard. He sets up all these situations of different people trying to kidnap Malcolm on the same night. There was like four different attempts and none of them were funny. Also, all the subplots are weak and none of them are good enough to save the movie. I will cut Jeff some slack since this is his first real film. However, this isn't the way you should start off. Also, he has to work with a very weak script and an obnoxious lead. I really wish I was joking here but there is not one funny moment. It's really just 95 minutes of pure boredom and there is no point in wasting your time to watch this movie. In the end, this light comedy may end up being the worst movie of 2005. Rating 1/10
Did you know
- TriviaJay Mohr had actual ketchup splattered all over his face
- GoofsWhen Malcolm finally learns that Corey has really kidnapped him, he tries to escape. Corey shoots a few nails at him and hits the wall. In the next shot, there are no nails in the wall.
- Quotes
Corey: [Corey is talking on the phone with Malcolm's ex-wife] I demand a ransom of $10,000 dollars.
Malcolm King: [Malcolm grabs the phone from Corey] What $10,000 dollars? I'm not worth $10,000 dollars! You kidnapped Malcolm King not Bobby Brown!
- ConnectionsFeatures Let's Make a Deal (1971)
- SoundtracksLiving Like a King
Written by Calvin Richardson and Luce Gordon
Performed by Calvin Richardson and Luce Gordon
Courtesy of Luce Gordon & Tony Hustle
Calvin Richardson appears courtesy of Hollywood Records
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- King's Ransom
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Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,008,527
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,300,000
- Apr 24, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $4,143,652
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1