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King's Ransom

  • 2005
  • PG-13
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
4.4/10
4K
YOUR RATING
Jay Mohr, Roger Cross, Anthony Anderson, Leila Arcieri, Jackie Burroughs, Loretta Devine, Donald Faison, Regina Hall, Charlie Murphy, Nicole Ari Parker, Kellita Smith, Brooke D'Orsay, and Lisa Marcos in King's Ransom (2005)
Theatrical Trailer from New Line Cinema
Play trailer1:59
10 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyCrime

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.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.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.

  • Director
    • Jeffrey W. Byrd
  • Writer
    • Wayne Conley
  • Stars
    • Anthony Anderson
    • Kellita Smith
    • Jay Mohr
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.4/10
    4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jeffrey W. Byrd
    • Writer
      • Wayne Conley
    • Stars
      • Anthony Anderson
      • Kellita Smith
      • Jay Mohr
    • 23User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
    • 11Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos10

    King's Ransom
    Trailer 1:59
    King's Ransom
    King's Ransom Scene: Hook Me Up
    Clip 1:13
    King's Ransom Scene: Hook Me Up
    King's Ransom Scene: Hook Me Up
    Clip 1:13
    King's Ransom Scene: Hook Me Up
    King's Ransom Scene: I Lied
    Clip 0:58
    King's Ransom Scene: I Lied
    King's Ransom Scene: Credit Cards
    Clip 0:51
    King's Ransom Scene: Credit Cards
    King's Ransom Scene: Get That Promotion
    Clip 1:01
    King's Ransom Scene: Get That Promotion
    King's Ransom Scene: Help Me
    Clip 0:42
    King's Ransom Scene: Help Me

    Photos105

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    Top cast47

    Edit
    Anthony Anderson
    Anthony Anderson
    • Malcolm King
    Kellita Smith
    Kellita Smith
    • Renee King
    Jay Mohr
    Jay Mohr
    • Corey
    Donald Faison
    Donald Faison
    • Andre
    Nicole Ari Parker
    Nicole Ari Parker
    • Angela Drake
    • (as Nicole Parker)
    Regina Hall
    Regina Hall
    • Peaches Clarke
    Loretta Devine
    Loretta Devine
    • Miss Gladys
    Leila Arcieri
    Leila Arcieri
    • Kim Baker
    Charlie Murphy
    Charlie Murphy
    • Herb Clarke
    Brooke D'Orsay
    Brooke D'Orsay
    • Brooke Mayo
    Jackie Burroughs
    Jackie Burroughs
    • Grandma
    Lisa Marcos
    Lisa Marcos
    • Raven
    Roger Cross
    Roger Cross
    • Byron
    Millie Tresierra
    • Woman
    Rob Smith
    • David
    Brenda Crichlow
    Brenda Crichlow
    • Anita
    Carrie Colak
    • Lori
    Lila Yee
    • Miss Ho
    • Director
      • Jeffrey W. Byrd
    • Writer
      • Wayne Conley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    4.43.9K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    6david900163

    What movie did you other people go see??

    Okay, I am obviously alone here.

    I thought this movie was funny but too short.

    Peaches rocked.

    The gold-digger wife was (is) hot.

    Loretta Devine as the secretary...flawless.

    The acting-VP with the college degrees...or...no degrees, going berserk...could it be any funnier?

    The sandwich getting body slammed on the roadside? funny shtick.

    And the fifty-cent music...perfect!

    I thought this movie had a lot to offer. It was just too short. The credits were rolling but I was wanting more.

    Remember, it is not true to life. It seems that "black" films are required to either represent true life or contain a "do-good message" for the youth.

    I'd prefer to go to a movie to laugh and be entertained.

    I thought this film was entertaining.

    King's Ransom was funny but too short.

    I've seen it twice just to make sure.
    2RecoWilliams

    This is the first movie I ever walked out on.

    O.k. I'm a black guy. And I usually grade on a curve for black comedies, but this was the worst movie I've ever seen.

    Any screenplay writer knows that you are suppose to set-up what's going on in the movie in the first 10 minutes. How about 20 minutes later I still didn't have a clue, then all of my friends and I walked out of a $10.00 movie!

    I'm not even going to waste my time writing a plot review for this movie, because I didn't see the whole thing. Two words: IT SUCKS!

    Save your money don't rent the DVD, wait for it to come on HBO or better yet wait 3 years until it comes on TBS and they will show it every day if they can edit the harsh language.
    4Hypno-2

    Needs work

    I had heard some pretty horrible things about this movie but i love Anthony Anderson so i decided to give it a shot. Kings Rasom is a comedy about a rich man named Malcom King (Anthony Anderson) who decides to get a divorce to avoid giving his wife a divorce settlement. I never knew how being kidnapped would help achieve this but were just led to believe that somehow this will work. He enlists his girlfriends (Regina Hall) aid to help him who has the IQ of a raising and calls her creepy convict of a brother to help her (played by the brilliant Charlie Murphy).

    Unfortunately 2 more sets of people get the same idea of kidnapping him, at the same time what are the odds on that? You have the disgruntled employee who was passed up for a vice president position and you have a lovable looser who is stepped on by Malcolm king.

    Kings Ransom does have some funny moments and interesting turns. But allot of things fall flat. Were supposed to believe that a man who built a company would make his bimbo girlfriend vice president? So many coincidences? The feds don't get involved when a millionaire gets kidnapped? My experience with the film was bipolar. At the begging i was hating it, then i started liking it, hated it, loved it, and in the end disappointed. Its as if the script self destructed being pulled in so many directions at once it just gave out. The ending was tagged on, character disappeared, had no purpose or just got lost in the shuffle.

    Quite frankly if this was rewritten I think it actually could have been up there with kidnapping classics like "Ruthless People" but instead its just one more movie for the bargain bin.
    1christian123

    Painful To Watch

    Anthony Anderson is Malcolm King, a rich and cocky businessman who tries to get out of being robbed blind by his ex-wife in a divorce settlement by planning his own kidnapping. But someone else already has gotten the same idea, and now King is caught up in a game of "who has the millionaire?"

    King's Ransom takes a harmless premise and turns it into a torturous experience. It is one of the worst attempts at comedy and it may be the first comedy ever that has failed to make the audience laugh at least once. It was like they weren't even trying to entertain the audience. I have to ask, what was the point? There was some potential in the premise and the cast wasn't terrible. However, the script fails the film at every turn and it was probably written by a five year old. It's just too bad this film wasn't meant for kids since they would have gotten more entertainment out of it. I would also be more forgiving if this was a kid's film.

    The semi decent cast is wasted in this mess and nobody gives a good performance. Anthony Anderson gives a really bad performance as Malcolm King. He overacts like crazy and just ends up being really annoying. Regina Hall over did the airhead role and it got tired fast. Sadly, she probably gave the best performance out of everyone. Jay Mohr tried way too hard to be funny and it didn't work. Donald Faison and Kellita Smith should be ashamed for agreeing to appear in this piece of crap.

    I believe the blame shouldn't only go to the screenwriter but to the director as well. Jeff Byrd does a really poor job at directing and he seems to be trying too hard. He sets up all these situations of different people trying to kidnap Malcolm on the same night. There was like four different attempts and none of them were funny. Also, all the subplots are weak and none of them are good enough to save the movie. I will cut Jeff some slack since this is his first real film. However, this isn't the way you should start off. Also, he has to work with a very weak script and an obnoxious lead. I really wish I was joking here but there is not one funny moment. It's really just 95 minutes of pure boredom and there is no point in wasting your time to watch this movie. In the end, this light comedy may end up being the worst movie of 2005. Rating 1/10
    4maros612

    Great cast, (below) average movie

    A movie is about Malcom King, a spoiled tycoon, who treats people like dirt and acts funny. I think the character was quite good for the comedy genre, so bad the writers of the story weren't bit more creative. The core of the comedy is, that at certain situation, three different groups or individuals mastermind and want to execute the kidnapping (including Mr. King himself). This situation brings a lot of confusion and fun, but I was very disappointed at the laughable material in this comedy. It definitely isn't the type of comedy where you have problems to catch on breathing. Quite reversely, you'll hardly laugh at this flick. It's a kind of light movie you can stare at, and smile for the most part. I expected much more, but it didn't hurt.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Jay Mohr had actual ketchup splattered all over his face
    • Goofs
      When Malcolm finally learns that Corey has really kidnapped him, he tries to escape. Corey shoots a few nails at him and hits the wall. In the next shot, there are no nails in the wall.
    • Quotes

      Corey: [Corey is talking on the phone with Malcolm's ex-wife] I demand a ransom of $10,000 dollars.

      Malcolm King: [Malcolm grabs the phone from Corey] What $10,000 dollars? I'm not worth $10,000 dollars! You kidnapped Malcolm King not Bobby Brown!

    • Connections
      Features Let's Make a Deal (1971)
    • Soundtracks
      Living Like a King
      Written by Calvin Richardson and Luce Gordon

      Performed by Calvin Richardson and Luce Gordon

      Courtesy of Luce Gordon & Tony Hustle

      Calvin Richardson appears courtesy of Hollywood Records

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    FAQ18

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 22, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Official site
      • New Line Cinema (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Untitled Anthony Anderson Project
    • Filming locations
      • Montréal, Québec, Canada
    • Production companies
      • New Line Cinema
      • Alter Ego Entertainment
      • Catch 23 Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,008,527
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $2,300,000
      • Apr 24, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,143,652
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 35m(95 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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