King Ralph

PG

1991

1 hr. 37 min.

Comedy

List

23%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

28%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When the royal family is accidentally killed, the heir to the throne proves to be a loutish American named Ralph Jones (John Goodman). Overnight, Ralph goes from sleazy Las Vegas lounge singer to King of England, and it's royal secretary Cedric Willingham's (Peter O'Toole) job to try to civilize him. But it's not easy weaning Ralph off of fast food, and even harder keeping him away from a kindly stripper (Camille Coduri). Meanwhile, the next would-be heir (John Hurt) plots Ralph's demise.

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Christiana S

Funny and entertaining trifle.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/29/24

Full Review

Paul D

I have owned this movie for many years, and I actually used a brief excerpt from it in my general music classes to illustrate the importance of cultivating a pleasant speaking voice. I watched for the first time in over a decade earlier this evening and found it engaging, amusing, and even a bit heartwarming in spots. So, just out of curiosity, I decided to look up its rating in Rotten Tomatoes. I was unsurprised by the reaction of the critics, because they have their collective thumbs up their collective orifices and they seldom reflect the tastes of normal moviegoers. I must confess to being shocked that the audience ratings were similar to those of the critics. King Ralph was not designed to be high art. I am familiar with high art. I'm a professional musician. I perform it and listen to it. But I do not expect the pop songs to which my students listen for relaxation and entertainment to exhibit the profundity of a Beethoven symphony. King Ralph is a pleasant diversion. It's good for a chuckle or two. Because it accomplished what it was intended to do, I rated it fairly highly.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/24

Full Review

Joseph H

This is an AMAZING film. I am shocked by the low ratings. Classic 'fat guy saves the world' situation; which we all love. I for one found it to be a realistic representation of what would happen if a fat, dumb American became king of the greatest country on the planet. Has everything: action, class, romance, and yes, even a little bit of DANCE!!! Fun for the whole family :)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/04/24

Full Review

Steve D

Not amusing, not for a single moment.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

m b

ILOVE THIS MOVIE!!! BUT I DO NOT WATCH IT UNLESS ITS ON A CHANNEL THAT EDITS FOR CONTENT... AS THIS MOVIE TAKES THE LORD'S NAME IN VAIN

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

sean g

Good Sunday afternoon movie, funny and moving John Goodman is great as are the rest of the cast.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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David S. Ward

Director

John Goodman

Ralph Hampton Gainesworth Jones

Peter O'Toole

Sir Cedric Charles Willingham

John Hurt

Lord Percival Graves

Camille Coduri

Miranda Green

Richard Griffiths

Duncan Phipps

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Feb 15, 1991

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

A film simply as bad as King Ralph does not have the courage of its own impudence. [Full review in Spanish]

Jan 20, 2023

Full Review

Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

As the years pass, King Ralph increasingly looks like an old-fashioned minor entry in the culture clash comedy catalog.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 3, 2021

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Filmmaker David S. Ward certainly does an effective job of establishing Goodman's affable protagonist and the situation in which he finds himself...

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 28, 2020

Full Review

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

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

Rated: 4/5

Mar 22, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

When the royal family is accidentally killed, the heir to the throne proves to be a loutish American named Ralph Jones (John Goodman). Overnight, Ralph goes from sleazy Las Vegas lounge singer to King of England, and it's royal secretary Cedric Willingham's (Peter O'Toole) job to try to civilize him. But it's not easy weaning Ralph off of fast food, and even harder keeping him away from a kindly stripper (Camille Coduri). Meanwhile, the next would-be heir (John Hurt) plots Ralph's demise.

Director: David S. Ward
Executive Producer: Sydney Pollack, Mark Rosenberg
Screenwriter: David S. Ward
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Mirage Enterprises
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $31.3M
Sound Mix: Surround

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