The Calcium Kid

The Calcium Kid is very funny in the tradition of "Young Frankenstein" and Monty Python stuff. Orlando Bloom shows that he can do more then play the swashbuckler. The humor ranges from subtle to absurd. The screenplay was just a little shy of pure genius. Sometimes it's nice to see a film that is just for fun. The actors have a chance to have fun and make fun of themselves. Orlando Bloom plays a wonderful part as our hapless hero. The supporting cast is great. The direction was hilarious. Pay attention though, you might miss some very funny stuff!! I give it 8/10 for the quality of work throughout the production. I literally laughed out loud several times. It's worth watching at least once, but I'll bet you'll want to see it again.

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.

In a era of 'reality TV' this low budget 'mockumentary' is a diamond in the rough, the storyline has heart but also manages to be one of the most amusing films I've seen in some time. It's a great movie about overcoming your fears and beating the odds, and it accomplishes this with laughter all the way which is a precious commodity this day and age. I find that I am Very anxious to add this movie to my collection, as soon as it's available in the States that is. :-) As a huge fan of Orlando's it was gratifying to see him turn in ANOTHER wonderful performance but it was truly great to see his sillier side come into play and I'm glad someone finally tapped into the comic talent his true fans know he possesses. Orlando's many fans in America will be blessed when this DVD is made available to us, and unfortunately for the guys, he will steal even more hearts so you can all just stop your crying now!

Obviously this film is going to come under un-necessary scrutiny because it stars rising talent and heart-throb, Orlando Bloom. But at the same time, his presence in this quirky British 'mokumentary' brought the film publicity which it wouldn't have been privileged to without Bloom's status. A double-edged sword.

Orlando Bloom is clearly a pretty face. And as shown in the Calcium Kid, a very pretty body (ATTENTION to all teenage girls who are a fan of Orlando- he is topless for a fairly long time!). But people are eager to see if Orlando can stand on his own two feet without high-profile and highly-talented actors like Johnny Depp (Pirates) and Brad Pitt (Troy) to help save his films. So far, Orlando hasn't really had a chance to show-case his acting talents as he hasn't yet played the lead role in a film. Until now. Granted, the Calcium Kid is a little British flick (sort of in the same category as Bend it Like Beckham) and it is a comedy, obviously audiences aren't going to see a really insightful glimpse into Orlando's capabilities.

Still, the Calcium Kid is surprisingly...good. That's right. It's funny. It's simple, charming and...funny!

Bloom plays milk-man Jimmy who is an amateur boxer (a hobby of his). Jimmy has had 0 wins. 0 losses. and 0 knock-outs. But a few bizarre mis-haps have Jimmy facing-off with a world boxing champion and things start going terribly wrong as his ignorant, and money-hungry manager, Herbie Bush (very funny Omid Djalili) lands him in the bad-books with his local town.

Look, Bloom isn't going for an Oscar with this film. It is a quaint, funny little British comedy. It is a guarantee'd laugh, and I highly recommend it.

As Jimmy's dad says "in a two-horse race, one horse has to win" - the Calcium Kid is a winning comedy. So give it a go.

I thought that The Calcium Kid was a good wee film. It was an interesting story. It was good to see how Jimmy prepared himself both physically and mentally in order to fight against Jose Mendez. Was also good how they portrayed Pete Wright as a Cockney thug hell bent in revenge against Jimmy. Orlando Bloom played this role well! Good on him! I enjoyed how they also portrayed Jimmy's manager. He was arrogant slimy and showed what it could be like if you were gonna get yourself a manager. Felt sorry for Jimmy as he was turned against because the manager was a bit of a prat and only wanted tension. Poor guy. The fan who went to Jimmy's house was quite good as well. That showed that there are fans who can do that sort of thing and just appear at their idol's door. She was convincing! Overall a very good film considering it was a low budget one. I couldn't pick anything that was wrong about it off the top of my head!