King Ralph

Sua maestà viene da Las Vegas
Quando l'intera famiglia reale inglese muore accidentalmente, si scopre che l'erede al trono è un certo Ralph Jones, pianista di Las Vegas, frutto di un amore clandestino del Duca di Warren. A insegnargli il mestiere di re ci pensa il segretario Willingham, ma Ralph proprio non è adatto. Anche il suo flirt con una ragazza che di mestiere fa la striptease non s'accorda molto con il fatto che, per ragioni di stato, lui dovrebbe sposare una principessa finlandese.
"King Ralph" was surprisingly entertaining and very funny, actually. However outrageous, implausible, ridiculous the plot, that doesn't matter. It was deliciously over the top to see Peter O'Toole and John Goodman, the most unlikely team ever, provide the spectacle of a cultural clash, to say the least. The movie cheerfully mocks both American and British culture and stereotypes, but it does it rather playfully, without being offensive to anybody. The joke is either on the hamburger and baseball loving Americans, or the stiff conservatory high-class Brits. People who describe this movie as "low-brow" comedy obviously have no idea what that means. This is good quality humor, no crude and tasteless jokes here. The actors are all top-rate and the acting is first class.
Who could have played the majestic, royal British type better than Peter O'Toole? Nobody! He's perfect, graceful and dignified as the King's adviser. John Goodman, on the other hand, is perfect as the average joe who doesn't know or care much about protocol, good manners or politics. John Hurt is another excellent choice to play the part of an evil, unscrupulous aristocrat hung up on power. Hurt obviously enjoyed doing this part and he's very funny. The movie tends to drag when Goodman's girlfriend shows up, but Princess Anna enters the stage to compensate. There are also some unnecessary exaggerations, but I didn't mind. The script is good, the jokes are over the top and performances are great all around. Hilarious stuff!
"King Ralph" was surprisingly entertaining and very funny, actually. However outrageous, implausible, ridiculous the plot, that doesn't matter. It was deliciously over the top to see Peter O'Toole and John Goodman, the most unlikely team ever, provide the spectacle of a cultural clash, to say the least. The movie cheerfully mocks both American and British culture and stereotypes, but it does it rather playfully, without being offensive to anybody. The joke is either on the hamburger and baseball loving Americans, or the stiff conservatory high-class Brits. People who describe this movie as "low-brow" comedy obviously have no idea what that means. This is good quality humor, no crude and tasteless jokes here. The actors are all top-rate and the acting is first class.
Who could have played the majestic, royal British type better than Peter O'Toole? Nobody! He's perfect, graceful and dignified as the King's adviser. John Goodman, on the other hand, is perfect as the average joe who doesn't know or care much about protocol, good manners or politics. John Hurt is another excellent choice to play the part of an evil, unscrupulous aristocrat hung up on power. Hurt obviously enjoyed doing this part and he's very funny. The movie tends to drag when Goodman's girlfriend shows up, but Princess Anna enters the stage to compensate. There are also some unnecessary exaggerations, but I didn't mind. The script is good, the jokes are over the top and performances are great all around. Hilarious stuff!



















