The Calcium Kid (2004)

Following a bizarre series of events, Jimmy, a local amateur boxer, finds himself pitted in a match against the world champion.

Director:

Alex De Rakoff

Writers:

Raymond Friel, Derek Boyle

Stars:

Mark Heap, Michael Lerner, Michael Peña

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Heap	...	Sebastian Gore-Brown
Michael Lerner	...	Artie Cohen
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 (as Wilson Cretaro da Luz Jnr)
Tamer Hassan	...	Pete Wright
Omid Djalili	...	Herbie Bush
John Joyce	...	Jon Wright
Cathy Dunning	...	Jeanne Wright

Storyline

Jimmy Connelly, an English bachelor milkman, 'accidentally' knocks down his boxing club's champion as a 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:

breaking a board with one's head | milk | champion | fight | boxing | 

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Taglines:

He doesn't just beat his opponents... He creams them.

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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

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£61,415 (United Kingdom), 2 May 2004, Limited Release

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

The DVD deleted scenes explains the skinheads disappearance from the movie after stalking Jimmy for a while. They stop following Jimmy after seeing the tabloids coverage of a strange tour of his to a hospital in order to gain sympathy from his fans. The tour turns into a series of problematic incidents where Jimmy and his entourage meet Jose Mendez amusing sick kids who don't want the calcium kid presence, which makes them move to the maternity sector where a black pregnant woman goes into labor work after playing fight with the boxer.

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Quotes

Sebastian Gore-Brown: Is there... is there a problem, Mr Cohen?
Artie Cohen: A problem? Well, my definition of a problem is a trivial annoyance easily overcome with quickness of thought. No, this is a situation.
Sebastian Gore-Brown: And... and and what exactly is-is your-your definition of a-a situation?
Artie Cohen: Two limey fuck filmmakers hanging from their skinny pricks over an eighth floor balcony, for shooting unauthorized footage of an Artie Cohen fighter. THIS! THIS IS MY DEFINITION OF A SITUATION!

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Crazy Credits

The Producer acknowledges that the behavior of the character "Jimmy Connelly" in the Film does not reflect the health and safety procedures of Express Dairies

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Connections

Remake of The Kid from Brooklyn (1946)

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Soundtracks

Gonna Fly Now
Music by Bill Conti with lyrics by Ayn Robbins and Carol Connors (as Connors)
Additional Arrangement by The Tribes of Saturday Night
Performed by Deetta West (as DeEtta Little) & Nelson Pigford
Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Music Inc.

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.