A Knight in Camelot

Dr Vivien Morgan accidentally gets sent back in time to the court of King Arthur. Wearing strange clothes, dropping from the sky and being black, she is naturally mistaken as a witch and taken to be burnt alive. However a timely total eclipse allows Morgan to fool the King into thinking she is a great wizard. Using her knowledge of the future she accomplishes many things and sets out to teach Arthur how to be a better King to his subjects.

Yet another spin on the old Twain story – however this one MUST be good cause it's a TV movie! With Whoopi Goldberg! Yes, that's right it's an unimaginative bit of fluff. The story is nothing special and nothing new – the main changes are the `urban' aspect Whoopi brings to it and the slave aspect that she brings to the story of kings and subjects. This means we have lots of Whoopi teaching high-5's, teaching them all to dance etc. The way she fits in so easily (despite wearing Reeboks) is very lazy and it show little effort has gone into the script. When the end approaches and everyone starts learning valuable lessons about life, you know you've just watched a TVM.

Whoopi does her usual stuff, but it's years since she's been at her comedic best (even her 2001 Oscars was tame when compared with Billy Crystal) and she can't save this just by being Afro-American. The rest of the cast just seem bemused. Baeza tries hard and seems sincere but Donohoe is clearly pining back to her LA Law days, while York just have a mocking smile on his face for the whole film – in fact just like in Austin Powers, the difference being that was meant to be a spoof.

Overall, TV movies generally promise very little and deliver very little – this has nothing new to offer and doesn't do anything with the recycled material that it has. Poor – for kids only.

This movie caught my eye at my local video store simply because I am a fan of medieval movies no matter what the title is or what it is about. But since I am not a big fan of Whoopie, I figured that I could check this one out anyway. Boy, what a flop it was. The only thing that was good about this film was the costumes!!! This movie stars big named actors/actresses with lame speaking parts. They would have been alot better if they would have kept their mouths quiet. Whoopie with her pathetic one line jokes did not fit in with this century or this movie. I think that for the most part medieval movies should not even be turned into a comedy. Jon Voight as King Author just did not fit in the film as well. And then we see him dressed as a slave. There were many parts in this film that contradicted what the characters were suppose to be. is he a king or a slave? Is Whoopie a witch or a knight? This movie was terrible and there are many other recomeded childrens movies to watch other than this. I give it a 3, simply because of the costumes.

It seems many people have slated this movie, and I'm not entirely sure why. As long as one keeps the movie within the context of a film for children, I don't see what the problem is.

I agree that the script is rather weak - there isn't much for the actors to go on. All in all, I think Whoopi Goldberg and Michael York do a good job in trying to bring as much life in to their parts as they can. Let's face it, if you are looking for a great 'emmy award winning film' then, naturally, you won't like this at all.

However, what most people seem to have missed is this very important point - it's a film for CHILDREN. In a world where films/cartoons seem to be incredibly violent, isn't it great to find a movie which encourages us to be open-minded and treat each other as equals - what a great message for children.

The idea of sending Whoopi Goldberg to King Arthur's Court, through some science experiment gone wrong, sounded... silly indeed! Very stupid. But I have to admit that I found this movie surprisingly good! You recognize all the story-book characters that you learn to know and love at an early age: King Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Sir Lancelot... The Arthurian world is not too different from what you expect, and it is NOT made silly but treated with respect. And then, of course, funny and likable Whoopie comes in as a stirring and overwhelming contrast to all stuffy Court protocol! :-)

Two things I like especially:

1. They show something of the ordinary people's lives as well, as it probably was in this very immature England - and not just an idealized court.

2. That they manage to picture the hopeless suppressed passion and longing between Lancelot and Guinevere, in a way that adults watching will understand and thrill to, but still completely pure and innocent for the children - who will not understand the eroticism.

There is also an important and very beautiful message in all this, and I have to admit that it tore at my heart-strings and wrung a couple of tears from my eyes... something that has not happened even with allegedly great movies for a very long time! Much recommended for families with children in all ages!

I love Whoopi Goldberg, but this script was beneath her. It was cliche from start to finish, and it had a finale that made no sense at all, just an easy out for the writers, if they could be called that. I must say that my 10-year old daughter laughed throughout this film, and enjoyed it immensely. I guess since that is the target audience of the film, it hits the mark. However, all viewers above the age of 12 might want to give it a miss.