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John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, John Hurt, Camille Coduri, Richard Griffiths ... see more see more... , Leslie Phillips , James Villiers , Joely Richardson , Niall O'Brien , Julian Glover , Judy Parfitt , Ed Stobart , Dallas Adams , Roger Ashton-Griffiths , Ann Beach , Richard Bebb , Paul Beech , Cameron Blakely , Chantal-Claire , Patrick Cremin , Guy Fithen , Gareth Forwood , Ian Gelder , Brian Greene , Topaze Hasfal-School , Josanne Haydon-Pearce , Gedren Heller , Vanessa Lee Hicks , Adele Lakeland , Angus MacKay , Alan McMahon , Sally Nesbitt , Jazzi Northover , Caroline Paterson , Charlotte Pyecroft , Tim Seely , Jack Smethurst , Dawn Spence , Kirk St.James , David Stoll , Jennie Stoller , Rudolph Walker , Richard Whitmore , Michael Johnson , Mary Selway

Sometimes a family title, among the nobility of England, goes to the "collateral" heirs -- people not in the direct line of decent, like cousins, great-nephews and the like. On rare occasions, these p... read more read more...eople are not even aware that they are about to be elevated to the House of Lords, and they have been living more-or-less ordinary lives. In this comedy, the family which lacks direct heirs is the Royal Family of England -- as all of the likely heirs have died one after the other in swift succession. In this comedy, the "collateral heir" is an exuberant, fence-busting All-American slob (and pretty good rock n' roll musician) by the name of Ralph (John Goodman). Unknown to him, his grandmother had an affair with a royal prince. Ralph's a good guy, and eager to please. He recognizes the importance of the royal hoopla to England and works very hard to fit in as its new designated king. He is assisted by the ever-unctuous, very serious family factotum Willingham (Peter O'Toole). The trouble is, he doesn't have instincts for politics English-style, and he is constantly "putting a foot wrong," as they might say. The most difficult situation for him is when he develops a new love interest, and she's not "acceptable" to the upper crust. In addition to being hounded by the tabloids, he finds that "the good of the state" requires that he drop his new girlfriend. Things really come to a head just before Ralph's coronation as king. Reviewers generally loathed this feel-good comedy, but audiences seem to have enjoyed it tremendously, and it has done well in video and TV airings. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Flixster Users

26% liked it

19,109 ratings

Critics

20% liked it

10 critics

PG, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: David S. Ward

Release Date: February 15, 1991

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DVD Release Date: June 15, 1998

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Stats: 442 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (442)


  • April 20, 2012
    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img]

    In his first ever starring role, John Goodman really gives it his all and delivers a charming performance as the titiluar character that is the -should be hilarious- Ralph. The film surrounding Goodman is... read moren't as energetic. There are very few laughs in the second half of King Ralph because it focuses more on the plot which in it's execution, should have been a lot funnier than it was. The whole idea of the film was designed primarily for John Goodman to do what he does best and wisecrack, do fat jokes and be lovable but their's very little of that as opposed to his role's in Dirty Deeds and The Big Lebowski. I laughed a few times but it doesn't make full use of the comedic cast it has on board. At best it's barely passable but also mildly amusing.
  • November 3, 2011
    Seriously?. Come on...
  • December 7, 2009
    Nice Comedy but forgetable
  • September 25, 2009
    Stupid but lots of fun!
  • November 23, 2007
    a great and unknown film
  • September 9, 2007
    You really have to stretch to make this a believable plot. It has some laughs but nothing really to get excited about.
  • August 11, 2007
    Comedy about a guy who find out he's next inline to the British throne after a freak accident kills off the royal family.
  • August 4, 2007
    A hard-to-swallow plot has some funny moments, but it seems formulaic.
  • February 27, 2007
    Completely predictable class comedy that's wall-to-wall cliches. Goodman is always watchable, but he's got very little to work with here.
  • July 6, 2011
    john goodman is a kindhearted and hillarious as a goofy american britian king. B+

Critic Reviews


Steve Crum
March 22, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Interesting premise of Goodman becoming King works as fairly funny comedy.

Luke Y. Thompson
January 16, 2003
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Unfortunately it's not a movie about Green Party candidate Nader -- just a barely passable "funny fat guy" flick

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

October 18, 2008
Variety

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Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

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Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

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Jonathan Rosenbaum
January 1, 2000
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

February 15, 1991
Entertainment Weekly

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Chuck O'Leary
October 9, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

No review available.

Emanuel Levy
July 18, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

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King Ralph Trivia


  • In the movie King Ralph. Who played King Ralph?  Answer »
  • In what movie did John Goodman become a ROYAL of England???  Answer »
  • What Actor do these movies have in common? The Babe The Flintsones King Ralph Arachnophobia Raising Arizona   Answer »
  • What do "THE BABE", "KING RALPH" and "RAISING ARIZONA" have in common?   Answer »

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