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The Calcium Kid
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The Calcium Kid (2004) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
5.6/10   2,313 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alex De Rakoff
Writers:
Derek Boyle (screenplay)
Alex De Rakoff (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Calcium Kid on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 April 2004 (UK) more
Genre:
Comedy more
Tagline:
It takes a lotta bottle to be the champ more
Plot:
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. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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NewsDesk:
50 Cent Joins Dead Man Running
 (From TheMovingPicture. 20 November 2008, 1:57 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Great, underrated little film more

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
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and brief nudity.
Runtime:
89 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
London, England, UK

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Cameo: [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. more
Quotes:
Jimmy: [lies in bed] Say my name... Yeah, baby, yeah. Yeah...
Sebastian Gore-Brown: [clears throat] Jimmy?
[Jimmy looks up from underneath the cover]
Sebastian Gore-Brown: Morning. We're the documentary team, we'll be filming you 24 hours a day in the run-up to the fight.
Jimmy: Of course, the fight. Who would have thought it? Jimmy Connelly fighting Jose Mendez for the championship belt.
Sebastian Gore-Brown: So, tell us, how does Jimmy Connelly start his day?
Jimmy: Umm... Well, as you probably noticed... I normally start off in the morning with a set of 50 sit-ups...
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Movie Connections:
Remake of The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) more
Soundtrack:
Hard Work more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful:-
Great, underrated little film, 15 September 2006
7/10
Author: new_skin from United States

I first saw 'The Calcium Kid' at the end of 2004, and have since bought the DVD. This movie is very underrated, with great performances from a mostly-unknown-outside-of-the-United-Kingom (at the time) cast. The film begins a week before a much-anticipated title fight between World Champion Jose Mendez (Michael Pena-Crash) of the United States and the undefeated British challenger Pete Wright (Tamer Hassan-The Football Factory). Wright is injured while sparring with Jimmy Connolly (Orlando Bloom), a milkman who is yet to have his first fight. Fearful of losing his chance at fame, Wright's manager Herbie Bush (Omid Djalili) replaces Wright with Connolly without telling Mendez or his take-no-prisoners manager, Artie Cohen (Michael Lerner-Barton Fink). The fight gains huge amounts of publicity due to the unusual nature of it, and the days preceding the fight send Connolly spiraling from underdog hopeful to fascist and everywhere in between.

Orlando Bloom is great in his performance as Jimmy Connolly. I think it is his best yet, in fact. As the leading man, he shows his skills at comedy, and is free from being overshadowed by the ensemble cast of Lord Of The Rings and Pirates Of The Caribbean. His reactions to the situations he finds himself in over the days before the big fight are priceless and pulled off realistically. Bloom, acting outside his normal period piece roles, proves that he can pull off many a different role.

Tamer Hassan is also great as the disgruntled Pete Wright. Despite his attempts to publicly humiliate Connolly and Bush, you really feel for his situation. Having the chance of a lifetime taken from you by a milkman is enough to set anybody off, and Hassan does the role justice in a hilarious way.

The Calcium Kid features great performances all around, such as those I've already mentioned, as well as Michael Pena, Michael Lerner and Omid Djalili. Look for supporting roles by Rafe Spall and Billie Piper as well.

Lastly, something must be said of first time writer/director Alex De Rakoff. The script is hilarious, and the mockumentary-style directing are spot-on. I only hope this is the first of many for De Rakoff.

To conclude, The Calcium Kid is one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. Not only that, but Bloom's performance really makes you want to see his character pull off the upset of a lifetime. See this film; you will not be disappointed.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Calcium Kid (2004)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
is there somewhere where you can download it or watch it? DaNamesMatlock
So can ANYBODY tell is the movie any good? Mariika
What if there was no Orlando Bloom? mentalistic
Chris Eubank! andypan99
What did he say in spanish? suzi_
O. Bloom in footsteps of Harold Lloyd + Danny Kaye grumpy736-1
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