After a freak accident wipes out the entire royal family, a desperate search for a surviving heir to the throne turns up one man… Ralph Jones (John Goodman), an American lounge singer from Las Vegas. Arriving at Buckingham Palace in his Green Bay jacket, Cubs hat, and sunglasses, Ralph is not really the picture of the British monarchy. Duncan Phipps (Richard Griffiths) and Sir Cedric Willingham (Peter O’Toole) try to keep Ralph sheltered from the press while they instruct him in arts of sovereignty and attempt to make him look and act more like a king.

While initially Ralph enjoys the perks and benefits of his new position, he quickly gets tired of being cooped up, and having to follow so many rules, with people constantly telling him what he can and cannot do. One of these restrictions is that he shouldn’t date commoner Miranda (Camille Coduri), a quirky young lady he meets when he sneaks out to a strip club. Sir Cedric constantly reminds Ralph that the monarchy is more than just one man, and that he must consider the needs of the country over his own, but Ralph isn’t so sure this role is for him.

Meanwhile, Lord Percival Graves (John Hurt) is looking for ways to get rid of the new king. He would love to see the fall of the House of Wyndham and see his House of Stuart rise again, especially since he would be the next in line for the throne. So he tries to pay off Miranda to help him catch Ralph in a compromising position, or get Ralph to fall for her such that he would have to abdicate his throne to be with her. Lord Graves has lots of dirty tricks up his sleeve, including a man on the inside. Can Ralph become the king that England needs, or will his wild ways lead the country towards embarrassment and his own departure from the throne?

King Ralph was originally released in 1991, and makes its way onto Blu-ray for the first time in the U.S. thanks to Mill Creek. I had owned this on Laserdisc back in the day, and watched it so many times, but it’s been a decade or two since I last revisited it. While this isn’t a film that I generally find laugh-out-loud funny, I still find it to be a very amusing and enjoyable fish-out-of-water comedy. The film holds up really well 30 years later, with a story that feels timeless and relevant to any era, and costumes and sets that don’t look dated.

What I like about Ralph is that he is not just a one-dimensional buffoon. He’s out of his element, but still tries his best at new situations. Ralph’s loud, wild, American way of doing things sometimes actually works out for the better, but more often than not, it usually leads to more trouble and the threat of another national embarrassment—aka awkward and fun scenarios for the viewer. While others may love the fortune and power that comes with being a monarch, Ralph is more grounded and down-to-earth in his approach to life, desires, and what makes him happy. John Goodman is great in this role as he not only delivers on the physical humor, but gives Ralph more of a humanity that allows viewers to connect to and care about this character, and not just laugh at his antics.

The supporting cast is also fantastic. Peter O’Toole lends the perfect level of gravitas and seriousness to Willingham, the man who is trying to turn Ralph into a proper king. He is balanced nicely by the slightly comical Richard Griffiths. John Hurt makes a great villain as the man who is secretly scheming to get the throne for himself, while also pretending to be a happy and loyal servant. While previously I said this wasn’t a laugh-out-loud movie, there is one exception to that, and that is Joely Richardson as Princess Anna, a woman whom Ralph is being set up with as a possible strategic union to help diplomatic and financial relations for the country. She delivers this very straight but over-the-top and hilarious performance that gets me every time.

Like the majority of Mill Creek’s Retro VHS releases, this disc is barebones, just offering a basic menu with Play and Subtitle On/Off options. The video presentation is a bit of a mixed bag. Outdoor shots generally look very clean, bright and colorful, but some of the indoor scenes look slightly flat and dull. While the level of detail isn’t necessarily bad, it’s also nothing remarkable that would make you accidentally think you’re watching a 4K transfer (you’re not going to see the pores on people faces). There are also occasional white specs of dirt that pop up on screen. These aren’t that distracting, but appear more aggressively during stock footage and establishing shots. There’s one scene about 23 minutes in where Ralph is learning to play cricket, and it’s almost like they filmed it behind glass as you can see faint reflections of each of the characters above themselves. However, this effect looks the same on Universal’s digital release, so this appears to be a product of the source material and not something specific to this Blu-ray. The disc’s stereo audio track is more than sufficient for the film. While it doesn’t have an immersive feel, the dialogue is clear, and the score and Ralph’s few musical performances sound really good.

The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase, with a Retro VHS slipcover that makes the release look like a classic VHS rental tape. The details on these slipcovers are really fun, and the design even extends to the spine as well, allowing these discs to displayed like a collection of VHS tapes on your shelf. The standard case artwork with the slipcover removed can be seen below:

What’s Included:

Film: (1:36:19)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

There is no bonus material included on this disc.

Final Thoughts:

King Ralph is a fun fish-out-of-water comedy that still holds up quite well 30 years later. John Goodman delivers an amusing performance and is surrounded by a talented British supporting cast. Mill Creek’s Blu-ray presentation is a bit of a mixed bag, but looks very similar to Universal’s digital release. The release does not include any bonus material or a digital copy, but should be a welcome catalog release for those who have been waiting for this to arrive on Blu-ray.