My Review of "King Ralph"

King Ralph is a fish out of water comedy that came out in 1991. This was somewhat of a beloved movie back in the day. Watching it today, I can see how it has aged out of relevancy. It's too bad because I remember liking this movie when it first came out. There's minor fun to be had with this one but I don't think people would be able to digest this movie that well today.

The movie starts out with the entire English royal family. They are about to take a royal picture together but it was raining earlier. There are some issues with the electronics involved with the photo resulting in everyone's death. This brings huge mourning over the royal family. The people in charge have to find the remaining heir. They search wide and they finally found the guy.

This is where we get introduced to Ralph. He's a guy not doing too well living in Las Vegas. His dreams are to become a popular singer but no one wants to see him. At one of his poorly attended shows, the people responsible for the royals attend. They break the news to him that he's the new king of England. He thinks the whole thing is a lark and plays it off as if they're trying to cheat him.

He finally gives in and recognizes that it's true. This soon becomes a fish out of water situation. He's a common American trying to survive in a new aristocratic world. Fortunately for him, he's got Cedric and Phipps to get him ready for this new world. Still, you can't break old habits.

Ralph soon gets lonely and isolated and decides to out out. He will find a new love interest by the name of Miranda. Due to the fact that he's King, he's forbidden to have any relations with a commoner. This irks Ralph but he does recognize that he's got a duty to the country.

All that plays out with some fun. Ralph is charismatic with a genuine jovialness that is undeniable. You can't help but like the guy. That is pretty much what compelled me to continue watching this movie. His antics and the scenarios that they place him in are quite tame to today's expectations. If you watch it now, you'll be wondering why they think these things are so scandalous compared to today's big stories.

The pacing of the movie is also lacking. Since it was a product of its time, the music and the references are quite dated as well. They use enough fairly popular references to keep you on your toes but for the most part it is dated. This is pretty much the same movie as Mr. Deeds. It's been a while since I've watched that one. I'll have to check that one out to see how it compares to this movie.

I remember back when this first came out. This movie was one of the movies that I'd be able to watch over again because I thought it was fun. Today, it's a little bit of a bore. That's not to blame them. At the time the antics were quite out of the ordinary but today they seem quite lame. Even some of the scenarios seemed somewhat geared towards children. Maybe that's why I liked it. I was a kid when I first saw it.

Overall, there is a bit of fun to be had with this movie but it is quite a chore to watch through today. It's overly boring and doesn't have enough punch to keep your interest throughout the whole movie. Yes there are some charming characters but they aren't enough to redeem the movie. I have to give this one a 4 out of 10.