The Calcium Kid (2004)

The film is a mockumentary comedy, in which Bloom plays young milkman Jimmy. He is an amateur boxer who by a bizarre twist of events ends up fighting the world champion in his home town.

Director:

Alex De Rakoff

Writers:

Raymond Friel, Derek Boyle,

Stars:

Mark Heap, Michael Lerner, Ronni Ancona

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Heap	...	Sebastian Gore-Brown
Michael Lerner	...	Artie Cohen
Ronni Ancona	...	Pat Connelly
Michael Peña	...	Jose Mendez
Julian Zapata	...	Jose's Entourage
Alejandro Ramirez	...	Jose's Entourage
Milton Hernandez	...	Jose's Entourage
Alberto Ramon	...	Jose's Entourage
Hector Trujillo	...	Jose's Entourage
John Correa	...	Jose's Entourage
Janier Morales Drado	...	Jose's Entourage
Wilson Cretaro da Luz Jr.	...	Jose's Entourage
Tamer Hassan	...	Pete Wright
Omid Djalili	...	Herbie Bush
John Joyce	...	Jon Wright

Storyline

Jimmy Connelly, an English bachelor milkman, 'accidentally' knocks down his boxing club's champion as stand-in sparring partner. The champ was scheduled for a title fight against the reigning, American world champion. So the sleazy manager decides to substitute him with Jimmy, who is now groomed for stardom. Naive Jimmy does everything the crook says, only to be blamed when it all explodes in their faces big time. Will he keep taking it or stand his ground before his whole career and private life are ruined?

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Plot Keywords:

champion | milkman | fight | boxer | mockumentary | 

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Taglines:

It takes a lotta bottle to be the champ

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Working Title Films (prod co)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

A kalcium kölyök

Filming Locations:

Express Dairies, Wakefield St, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jamie Gambell:  when Stan is fighting with various people in the bar, the guy that he is wrestling with on the pool table is the second boom operator.

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Quotes

Jimmy: If you're trying to scare me, you'd be better off by saying BOO!

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Connections

Spoofs Rocky II (1979)

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Soundtracks

"Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll"
(Ian Dury (as Dury) / Chaz Jankel (as Jankel))
Performed by Ian Dury
Courtesy of Templemill Music Ltd

User Reviews

cute movie

I've read all the terrible reviews; I wasn't expecting much, especially since I'm unlikely to get any British humor (being in the US and growing up in Asia). But the movie really surprised me at how many times it made me laugh out loud.

The performances are great fun to watch. Yes, the characters are cliché and very 1-D, but they are played with enough enthusiasm and charm to make up for the 'weak' script. There are places where the movie falls on the 'wrong/bad' side of cringe-worthy, like some scenes with Herbie(the manager) and Stan (the best friend), but overall, it's an enjoyable way to spend two hours.

And then, there's Jimmy (Orlando Bloom's character), who with his naivete and haplessness, manages to 'preach' without ever sounding preachy or cheesy. I know this is no Oscar movie, but it isn't as mindless as some comedies out there. At its heart, spoken through Jimmy's dad's quotes, are some good really messages. It's almost a shame that the movie isn't cut for a younger audience. It'd be a good diversion from the usual 'teen queen' movies flooding the cinemas these days.