John Goodman as Ralph Kramden?

[The Great One]

I remember awhile ago hearing about how John Goodman from "Roseanne" would be starring in a movie version of the Honeymooners. I don't recall what the reason was for the movie never being made so I'm hoping that someone on this message board knows and would be willing to post that info. Thanks.
:)

[T-Greg]

I had heard the same thing, and well before the "Urban" Honeymooners movie came out, there was word that a Honeymooners movie was going to be made with Tom Arnold as Ralph. Nothing ever came of it. I think there is no one today that could play the role of Ralph better than Goodman. My choice for Norton would be Jim Carrey.

[*ClassicPinUp*]

I read an article that said the 2005 Honeymooner movie producers where originally looking at John Goodman for the part of Ralph Kramden but then decided to "change a few things" & that's how we got the uh...new...version of "The Honeymooners."
I'm glad they left John Goodman out of it! I think the sucky movie had the perfect sucky actors.

[Bill S.]

John Goodman did a good job as Fred Flintstone, so I could definitely see him as Ralph. The Honeymooners movie could've been handled so much better, it's really a shame. John Goodman, Tom Arnold or Kevin James would've all been much better choices than Cedric the Entertainer. I still can't believe they actually made that movie. :rolleyes:

I had heard the same thing, and well before the "Urban" Honeymooners movie came out, there was word that a Honeymooners movie was going to be made with Tom Arnold as Ralph. Nothing ever came of it.
I remember when Tom Arnold was going to do that Honeymooners movie. There was even an article in the newspaper about it, with a picture of Arnold dressed in Ralph's bus driver uniform. I'm pretty sure Alice was in the picture too, but I can't remember who was going to play her. I wish I still had that article, I haven't been able to find any information about that movie since.

[The Great One]

I think there is no one today that could play the role of Ralph better than Goodman. My choice for Norton would be Jim Carrey.

I agree with you about John Goodman and Jim Carrey~excellent choices for who could portray Ralph and Norton.

[The Great One]

I'm glad they left John Goodman out of it! I think the sucky movie had the perfect sucky actors.


Your statement caught me off-guard~very funny!!! Thanks for the laugh.

[The Great One]

John Goodman did a good job as Fred Flintstone, so I could definitely see him as Ralph. The Honeymooners movie could've been handled so much better, it's really a shame. John Goodman, Tom Arnold or Kevin James would've all been much better choices than Cedric the Entertainer. I still can't believe they actually made that movie.


I agree!!! It's a mystery to me how they could pick Cedric the Entertainer over John Goodman, Tom Arnold or Kevin James to portray Ralph. It seems like
all those involved in making the movie made sure it was as bad as it could be.
:confused:

[Woolworth27]

I had heard the same thing, and well before the "Urban" Honeymooners movie came out, there was word that a Honeymooners movie was going to be made with Tom Arnold as Ralph. Nothing ever came of it. I think there is no one today that could play the role of Ralph better than Goodman. My choice for Norton would be Jim Carrey.What do you mean by urban, because it was a black cast?:mad: :confused:

[T-Greg]

What do you mean by urban, because it was a black cast?:mad: :confused:

Of course it had a black cast, which is not the problem. "Urban" distinguishes it from the actual Honeymooners TV show. They never should have done a movie about the Honeymooners, unless it was about the show. The reality is, it did not have much to do about the TV show at all. It's like taking a classic movie like "Gone With the Wind" and butchering it to the point that it's nothing like the original at all...a farce! People who've never seen the original Honeymooners probably wonder if that's what the TV show was really about. It's a shame because if they had done it right, it would interest new viewers about a classic 1950's comedy they'd never seen before, and that interest would likely boost DVD sales and get more Honeymooners released...but, they blew a great opportunity.

[Woolworth27]

Of course it had a black cast, which is not the problem. "Urban" distinguishes it from the actual Honeymooners TV show. They never should have done a movie about the Honeymooners, unless it was about the show. The reality is, it did not have much to do about the TV show at all. It's like taking a classic movie like "Gone With the Wind" and butchering it to the point that it's nothing like the original at all...a farce! People who've never seen the original Honeymooners probably wonder if that's what the TV show was really about. It's a shame because if they had done it right, it would interest new viewers about a classic 1950's comedy they'd never seen before, and that interest would likely boost DVD sales and get more Honeymooners released...but, they blew a great opportunity.I agree with you 100%, the Honeymooners movies was trash,a disrespect to Jackie,Audrey,Art and Joyce. I feel that they should have got Kevin James to play Ralf and Jim Carey to play Norton. Leah Rimini would have made a good Alice as well. I feel that Leah has that same gift as an actress to carry out the role of Alice (Gibson) Kramden, just like Audrey Meadows had.:cool:

[T-Greg]

...and something that I did not understand was Art Carney's widow Jean, gave it her blessing. In fact, I think she gave Mike Epps (the Norton character) an autographed 8x10 of Art. I wonder is she was paid to give it her endorsement. I've never heard Joyce Randolph speak publicly about it, but I'd be willing to bet she does not approve.

[The Great One]

...and something that I did not understand was Art Carney's widow Jean, gave it her blessing. In fact, I think she gave Mike Epps (the Norton character) an autographed 8x10 of Art. I wonder is she was paid to give it her endorsement. I've never heard Joyce Randolph speak publicly about it, but I'd be willing to bet she does not approve.

Wow! Art Carney's widow gave the movie her blessing? Sure does sound like she was given $$$ for her endorsement. :(

[T-Greg]

Wow! Art Carney's widow gave the movie her blessing? Sure does sound like she was given $$$ for her endorsement. :(

Here you go. I found an article, but they say "Barbara" Carney, who was his wife before Jean. Not sure which one they meant, but here's the article, and the quote I'm referring to:

"...Mike Epps' tour promoter, Doug Isaac, showed up on the set accompanied by Barbara Carney, the widow of Art Carney. They had never met, but she came to the set with a picture of her husband, who died last year, signed, "With Love, Art Carney."

"I brought it for you, Mike," she said.

"This is amazing," he said, suddenly quiet. "I will never forget this in my entire life. It is such an honor to meet you."

Carney had very little trouble making sense of the other twist in the film's re-creation of her husband's series.

"I think that Art would be thrilled," she said...."

Article: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/movies/articles/1120honeymooners20.html

[Bill S.]

There's many other things I don't understand when it comes to this movie. For one, I remember seeing an interview with Cedric the Entertainer where he mentioned that he had never watched the show before. They gave the part of Ralph Kramden to someone who had never even seen The Honeymooners before! He did say that he had picked up the Classic 39 box set, but you can't truly understand the magic of the show after just seeing it for the first time. Also, the fact that the film was bashed by most critics but praised by Roger Ebert annoys the living hell out of me. Something tells me HE was offered some money to give it a good review, which it doesn't deserve. This movie should be taken off the shelves until there is some sort of public appology.

[T-Greg]

Another thing that people seeing this for the first time won't understand is the "faux" threats that Ralph gave Alice. Some people might be turned off by the "wife-beating" threats, but it never happened and you know it never would. People who grew up watching it, always knew that. The threats were merely an avenue for Ralph to channel his anger for the frustration he felt for not "making it", despite his efforts to get rich quick. Isn't that the American dream...? That said, it always ended with Alice and Ralph embracing...Ralph wanting to make Alice happy by giving her things they normally could not afford, and Alice reassuring Ralph that it was not necessary...I think I'm gonna cry now:lol:

[*ClassicPinUp*]

Here you go. I found an article, but they say "Barbara" Carney, who was his wife before Jean. Not sure which one they meant


Yeah they messed up--Barbara Isaac was his second wife. It's unfortunate that thier 10 year marriage broke up due to his drinking because she really seemed much better for him than Jean which he remarried again later. Like everyone else I don't understand her giving it her "blessing." Mainly because she had nothing to do with the show. The only person who had any right to give thier blessing was Joyce Randolph. (((backs away))) won't go any further lol.

I will say the best part of this movie is that it sold for 10cents at my local Target & Walmart........& still no one bought it so they threw them out! If only that would catch on :lol:.

[The Great One]

Here you go. I found an article, but they say "Barbara" Carney, who was his wife before Jean. Not sure which one they meant, but here's the article, and the quote I'm referring to:

"...Mike Epps' tour promoter, Doug Isaac, showed up on the set accompanied by Barbara Carney, the widow of Art Carney. They had never met, but she came to the set with a picture of her husband, who died last year, signed, "With Love, Art Carney."

"I brought it for you, Mike," she said.

"This is amazing," he said, suddenly quiet. "I will never forget this in my entire life. It is such an honor to meet you."

Carney had very little trouble making sense of the other twist in the film's re-creation of her husband's series.

"I think that Art would be thrilled," she said...."

Article: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/movies/articles/1120honeymooners20.html

Thanks for posting the quote. It's very interesting but still hard to believe.
Maybe the author took liberties and twisted the truth a little as to what was actually said. :confused:

[The Great One]

There's many other things I don't understand when it comes to this movie. For one, I remember seeing an interview with Cedric the Entertainer where he mentioned that he had never watched the show before. They gave the part of Ralph Kramden to someone who had never even seen The Honeymooners before! He did say that he had picked up the Classic 39 box set, but you can't truly understand the magic of the show after just seeing it for the first time. Also, the fact that the film was bashed by most critics but praised by Roger Ebert annoys the living hell out of me. Something tells me HE was offered some money to give it a good review, which it doesn't deserve. This movie should be taken off the shelves until there is some sort of public appology.

Wow! How could Cedric the Entertainer admit to an interviewer that he never whatched the Honeymooners before. What a fool he is! And Roger Ebert giving
the movie a good review??? Boy oh boy, let me have what he's drinkin'. I wanna get loaded too. :lol:

[Bill S.]

Another thing that people seeing this for the first time won't understand is the "faux" threats that Ralph gave Alice. Some people might be turned off by the "wife-beating" threats, but it never happened and you know it never would. People who grew up watching it, always knew that. The threats were merely an avenue for Ralph to channel his anger for the frustration he felt for not "making it", despite his efforts to get rich quick. Isn't that the American dream...?
That's another thing I remember Cedric mentioning in an interview. He said something about how that type of thing was "acceptable back then," but in this day and age it wouldn't go over too well. It's obvious that those things were purposely left out of the movie, especially when you hear Cedric say to Gabrielle Union, "I'll take you to the moon Alice," (God that part made me cringe).

On a different note though, I don't think it's completely fair to blame this whole mess on the actors. I mean, what actor or actress in their right mind would've passed up the opportunity to play Ralph or Alice? To me, it was the writers that made this movie a flop. Honestly, the majority of the movie revolves around Cedric and Mike Epps trying to race a dog...how is that funny again? If they were gonna put a different spin on it, they could've at least came up with something a little more original. Like the Bewitched movie for example, I thought that was a creative way of transforming a classic sitcom into a movie, not to mention Nicole Kidman's resemblence to the original Samantha. But what do they do instead? Throw some actors together that never even saw the original show before and have them beat the same unfunny jokes to death for a lowsy hour and a half. Thanks a lot...