King Ralph

David Ward made his reputation on his original screenplay to The Sting, but his career as a director has been built on lightweight comedies filled with generous spirit and slight aspirations. King Ralph delivers on that level. After a freak accident kills every immediate member of the British royal family, a search of the royal bloodline uncovers an unlikely candidate: portly Vegas lounge singer John Goodman. How will this gauche, exuberant, red-blooded American mix with the haughty aristocratic bluebloods? Blustery, big-hearted Goodman brings the common touch to the palace with the enthusiastic spirit of a beer-guzzling, burger-eating American everyman who hammers out a mean rock & roll piano--even at official functions. John Hurt plays his conniving rival, an overlooked lord who plots his demise, while Peter O'Toole brings quiet dignity to his role as the King's private secretary and unofficial guide through the maze of etiquette and diplomacy. Ward brings a distinctly American sensibility to the British setting-- this is definitely slapstick over satire and Goodman is a veritable bull in the royal china shop. It's a modest underdog comedy in which white hats and black hats are pretty rigidly defined, but Goodman brings a working-class dignity to the role. Watch for Joely Richardson in a hilarious turn as a throaty foreign princess who puts the moves on Goodman. --Sean Axmaker