Taglines: In a world of shady characters and dirty deals, this is just business as usual.
Elmo McElroy is a streetwise American master chemist who heads to England to sell his special new formula – a powerful, blue concoction guaranteed to take you to ‘the 51st state.’ McElroy’s new product delivers a feeling 51 times more powerful than any thrill, any pleasure, any high in history. But his plans for a quick, profitable score go comically awry when he gets stuck in Liverpool with an unlikely escort and his ex-girlfriend and becomes entangled in a bizarre web of double-dealing and double-crosses.
The 51st State (also known as Formula 51) is a 2001 British action comedy film directed by Ronny Yu, written by Stel Pavlou, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans, and Meat Loaf.
The film follows the story of an American master chemist (Jackson) who heads to Britain to sell his formula for a powerful new drug. All does not go as planned and the chemist soon becomes entangled in a web of deceit. The film premiered in the United Kingdom on 7 December 2001. It was released internationally under the name Formula 51 in October 2002, where it grossed $14.4 million, just over half of the budget.
Formula 51 – The 51th State (2001)
Directed by: Ronny Yu
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Robert Jezek, Jake Abraham, Meat Loaf, Mac McDonald, Aaron Swartz, David Webber, Barbara Barnes
Screenplay by: Stel Pavlou
Production Design by: Alan MacDonald
Cinematography by: Hang-Sang Poon
Film Editing by: David Wu
Costume Design by: Kate Carin
Set Decoration by: Duncan Wheeler
Art Direction by: Grant Armstrong, Hannah Moseley, Philip Robinson
Music by: Headrillaz, Casper Kedros, Darius Kedros
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language, drug content and some sexuality.
Distributed by: Momentum Pictures (UK), Alliance Atlantis (Canada)
Release Date: December 7, 2001
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