Review: King Ralph

A mass electrocution during a group photo opportunity, sees almost the entire Royal family wiped out. The sole living heir turns out to be gauche American club singer Ralph Jones (John Goodman), and needless to say it’s quite an adjustment for not only him, but the Royal staff, too. Peter O’Toole plays Cedric Willingham, Ralph’s tutor in the ways of being a Royal. Camille Coduri plays the working class ‘exotic dancer’ Ralph falls in love with, something scheming Lord Percival Graves (John Hurt) has no hesitation in using to discredit him. James Villiers is the British PM, Leslie Phillips is a Royal butler, Richard Griffiths plays Duncan, who is the one to locate Ralph. Julian Glover and Joely Richardson (made up to look like Princess Diana) turn up briefly towards the end as King Gustav and Princess Anna of Finland.

One of John Goodman’s rare lead roles, and whilst not a hit with critics, this 1991 fish-out-of-water comedy from writer-director David S. Ward (director of the mildly enjoyable “Major League”, and screenwriter of the all-time classic “The Sting”) was received amiably by audiences. It’s a fun, underrated film of a sort I don’t normally enjoy. This is one of the better fish-out-of-water comedies, albeit extremely light fare. How light? It’s basically a two-joke premise for a start: 1) Almost the entire British royal family is wiped out in a mass electrocution during a family photo, and 2) The sole surviving heir is a crass American club singer named Ralph. Still, Ward rides out those two jokes surprisingly entertainingly.

One of the main reasons for this working is the casting of John Goodman, who is perfect. He’s just ‘American’ enough to make the gag work (his first appearance is hilarious), but without being annoying or over-the-top like say Rodney Dangerfield or Jerry Lewis might’ve been (John Candy would’ve worked, though). When Ralph gets a small bowling alley installed in the palace, you start to see him as a somewhat smarter, single Homer Simpson. The film’s show-stopper is Goodman’s rendition of ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’, the highlight of the film for me. Ralph’s embarrassment at the delicacy ‘Spotted Dick’ is pretty adorable, and so is the film, really. There’s really no defence for it except to say that I liked this film, but a big part of that is the fact that Goodman and Ralph are likeable in it.

Although Camille Coduri is as annoying here as she was in “Nuns on the Run”, the rest of the supporting cast here are excellent. Julian Glover and James Villiers don’t get a whole lot to do, but Peter O’Toole scores as essentially Henry Higgins to Ralph’s Eliza Doolittle. He’s perfect. Veteran character actor Richard Griffiths, in my view, has never been better. John Hurt meanwhile, is an excellent rapscallion and appears to be having a whale of a time being the film’s Snidely Whiplash. The durable Leslie Phillips is essentially playing Sir John Gielgud in “Arthur” but with a secret slowly revealed. On the downside, Joely Richardson’s role, although funny, is a tad mean-spirited given she’s unflatteringly dubbed. Also, one scene of racial humour involving a foreign dignitary seems like it would’ve been dated back in 1991, let alone how ghastly it appears in 2018.

What somewhat limits the film a bit from really soaring is its American POV. It’s very superficial because Americans know nothing about royalty. Yeah, that’s part of the gag, but it’s also very surface-level entertainment. That’s fine, it’s just…minor. There’s nothing wrong with being simple, sweet, and amiable though. Goodman’s excellent, the supporting cast is mostly choice, and it’s all very watchable. I certainly think it’s a bit underrated.  

Rating: B-