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Movies / On DVD / King's Ransom
King's Ransom

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King's Ransom (2005)

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Reviews Counted:49

Fresh:1

Rotten:48

Average Rating:2.3/10

Consensus: Filled with crass dialogue, unlikable characters, and overdone slapstick gags, King's Ransom is an utterly inept would-be comedy.

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Anthony Anderson sheds his usual sidekick status, heading up the ensemble cast as Malcolm King, a boorish, egomaniacal billionaire who owns a huge, equally tasteless marketing firm in Chicago. The... Anthony Anderson sheds his usual sidekick status, heading up the ensemble cast as Malcolm King, a boorish, egomaniacal billionaire who owns a huge, equally tasteless marketing firm in Chicago. The cocky businessman is quickly established as the kind of character audiences love to hate, insulting underlings with glee and emitting crass vulgarities whenever he opens his mouth. His lovable secretary Miss Gladys (Loretta Devine) tries to keep him in line, while his uber-ditz of an administrative assistant, Peaches (Regina King, SCARY MOVIE), keeps him satisfied. Kellita Smith (THE BERNIE MAC SHOW) plays Malcolm's gold-digging wife, who is sleeping with her hunky, though stuttering, pool boy (Roger Cross) while seeking a hefty divorce settlement. The cast is rounded out by Angela (Nicole Ari Parker, SOUL FOOD), the temporary VP who is passed up for the job in favor of the boss's mistress, and Corey (Jay Mohr, LAST COMIC STANDING), a loser who lives in his grandmother's basement; his gang banger sister intimidates him into taking part in criminal activities. Resentments toward King abound, and soon everyone gets the same idea: kidnap Malcolm, take him for all he's worth, and teach him a valuable lesson. Even the big man himself decides to orchestrate his own kidnapping, in order to throw a wrench in the plans of his wife's lawyer. A cacophony of mistaken identities, misunderstandings, and general mayhem ensues, during which time the supporting cast is given a chance to shine; in particular, Jay Mohr deftly handles a violent run-in with a fast food worker with hilarious results. Donald Faison (SCRUBS) and Charlie Murphy (CHAPPELLE'S SHOW) also turn in stellar performances, as a randy parking attendant and a growling ex-con on the down low. [More]

Starring: Anthony Anderson, Jay Mohr, Regina Hall, Loretta Devine

Starring: Anthony Anderson, Jay Mohr, Regina Hall, Loretta Devine, Kellita Smith, Nicole Parker, Donald Faison, Leila Arcieri, Brooke D'Orsay, Charlie Murphy

Director: Jeff Byrd

Director: Jeff Byrd
Screenwriter: Wayne Conley
Producer: Darryl Taja
Composer: Marcus Miller
Studio: New Line Cinema

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for King's Ransom

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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If Hell does exist, I’m sure the only movie theatre in town will be playing nothing but Anthony Anderson movies.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
04/22/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

A mirthless comedy about venal people doing stupid things.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 2 Comments
05/01/05
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

King's Ransom lumbers forth clumsily, choreographing its slapstick pratfalls with all the class and taste of a Courtney Love relapse.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

Merely a collection of antics clothespinned to a plot.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
04/26/05
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

Byrd’s romp through the most contemptible stereotypes of women, gays, and ethnic minorities makes his film unfit for just about anyone, never mind royalty.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/30/05
Mattias Frey
Mattias Frey
Boston Phoenix

I couldn't pay anyone to see this movie. Literally.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
05/21/05
Boxoffice Magazine

The script, by TV writer Wayne Conley, shares some elements with the old Danny DeVito comedy Ruthless People, but humor isn't one of them.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/05/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

This slapdash comedy barely coughs up more than a couple of funny scenes as the story moves in predictable fits and starts before sputtering out of fuel half way through.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
06/19/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
10/30/06
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

Unobtrusive and virtually painless as an occasionally witty laugher, but lacks the courage of its convictions to follow through with its less commercial ambitions.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
04/23/05
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

The thing looks like it was written in a week, directed in two, and forgotten about by all involved in less than three.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
08/01/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVDTalk.com

You'll feel like the one who's being held hostage.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
04/23/05
E! Online

It is, quite plainly, like watching a movie that’s trying to go out of its way to be horrible.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/05
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

Basically an improv scene sprawling to feature length.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
05/04/05
Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Entertainment Weekly

Mean-spirited, unpleasant comedy about characters who are both nasty and stupid and who deserve every bad thing that happens to them. In fact, they deserve more.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
04/30/05
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

King’s Ransom deserves to be bashed, burned, and have its ashes scattered over Hollywood

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/25/05
Matt McKillop
Matt McKillop
Filmcritic.com

Watching Anderson try to be funny is like getting a tooth pulled, or sitting through a Tim Burton DVD audio commentary.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
04/22/05
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

Populated solely with hateful characters...strictly for connoisseurs of crass.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
04/21/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Devoid of anything resembling wit or even guiltily amusing tasteless gags, the film lurches from one haplessly staged sequence to another, with the performers vainly struggling to infuse humor into the proceedings.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/26/05
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
04/23/05
Hollywood.com
 
 
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