King's Ransom (2005)

Director:

Jeffrey W. Byrd

Writer (WGA):

Wayne Conley (written by)

Release Date:

22 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Big Man. Big Plan. Big Mistake.

Plot:

Hoping to foil his own gold-digging wife's plan, a loathsome businessman arranges his own kidnapping, only to realize that there are plenty of other people interested in his wealth as well.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Hit In Crotch | Release From Prison | Police | Marriage

Cast

Anthony Anderson	...	Malcolm King
Jay Mohr	...	Corey
Kellita Smith	...	Renee King
Nicole Ari Parker	...	Angela Drake (as Nicole Parker)
Regina Hall	...	Peaches Clarke
Loretta Devine	...	Miss Gladys
Donald Faison	...	Andre
Leila Arcieri	...	Kim Baker
Charles Q. Murphy	...	Herb Clarke (as Charlie Murphy)
Brooke D'Orsay	...	Brooke Mayo
Jackie Burroughs	...	Grandma
Lisa Marcos	...	Raven
Roger R. Cross	...	Byron (as Roger Cross)
Millie Tresierra	...	Woman
Rob Smith	...	David

Also Known As:

Untitled Anthony Anderson Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41556) | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:6 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During the car chase down Dearbon Street in Chicago, Illinois, Jay Mohr turns an intersection while being followed. A National Bank sign is visible after passing the cop. Banque Nationale is only in Canada; as the film was made in Montreal, Quebec.

Quotes:

Miss Gladys: [about Malcolm divorcing Renee] So you finally decided to divorce the bitch.
Malcolm King: The bitch is history.
Malcolm King: [Miss Gladys slaps Malcolm on the head] What?
Miss Gladys: What did I say about swearing?
Malcolm King: But you said the same thing Miss Gladys.
Miss Gladys: If I jumped off a bridge would you do it to?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crossover (2006)

Soundtrack:

You Can Have It (Version I)

Anthony Anderson is pretty funny but...

his character, Malcom King, is a slimeball in this. The one mistake with the movie is none of the characters are likable. His wife is a golddigger. His employees can't stand him and Corey has prior arrests, so you can't root for him either. King is getting a divorce, so in order to try to keep his wife from getting half, he plots his own kidnapping. The same night, some disgruntled employees and a loser, Corey, are planning to kidnap him too. King has gotten his buffoon of a girlfriend to get her brother to do the kidnapping. But he kidnaps the wrong guy and King is kidnapped for real. King still goes around disrespecting people but teaches Corey how to be a little more forceful. I thought those parts were funny. If you want to see some mustard smeared in a guy's face, then that scene is for you. There were other scenes that were funny, like Peaches going in the bedroom blindfolded, her brother watching exercise shows, Corey at the burger shack, etc...

FINAL VERDICT: I liked this. I thought it was OK for a comedy. Sure it was silly, but it was supposed to be. And Anthony Anderson is good like he usually is in comedies.