Formula 51 (2002)

Synopsis: Formula 51 is the story of Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson), a streetwise American master chemist who heads to England to sell his special new formula -- a powerful blue concoction guaranteed to... Formula 51 is the story of Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson), 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 with an unlikely escort (Robert Carlyle) and becomes entangled in a bizarre web of double-dealing and double-crosses.

Elmo McElroy made one little mistake in 1971 -- he was caught smoking pot while driving home from his graduation. In the blink of an eye, his dream of being a fully licensed pharmacist went up in smoke like the joint in his hand.

Fast forward to 2001 and McElroy is on the wrong side of the tracks. Left with no choice, he's been forced to use his professional talents illegally in order to make a living. He wants out of the business badly -- and he has an ace up his sleeve. It's a formula that's going to change his life and set him up for a terrific future. A wonder chemist, McElroy has created POS-51, a party favor promises to be a "personal visit fro God."

The coup de grace is that this new creation is made from entirely legal ingredients.

McElroy's boss, The Lizard (Meatloaf), an unsavory fellow with a skin condition, plans to sell POS-51 to a syndicate of the world's top dealers. But McElroy has other ideas and they don't include The Lizard.

After staging a chemical "accident" at the Lizard's headquarters. McElroy takes his invention to Liverpool to sell it. But what McElroy doesn't know is that his old boss is alive and well and has dispatched the sultry Dakota (Emily Mortimer) a tough beauty with a sniper rifle and a matching attitude, to track him down.

Dakota knows Liverpool well. It's where she left her ex-boyfriend Felix (Robert Carlyle), a tough, cranky, chain smoking fast talking hood. Felix now works for Liverpool's biggest thug, the man with whom McElroy is about to make a $20M deal.

And Felix has been assigned to escort McElroy while he's in town. And so begins a tempestuous relationship, one that is cemented as rivals, cops, cars and the occasional pedestrian are systematically taken out of the equation by the formidable partnership of Elmo and Felix.

For the arrival of the American chemist and his blue magic has sparked a gold rush the likes of which the city has never seen. Rival dealers would do anything to get their hands on the formula. Everyone -- club owners, cops, a gang of inept skinheads and The Lizard -- wants a piece of the action.

Who will outsmart whom? Who will double-cross their best friends and former lovers? Who will walk away with the formula? Will the good guys retire to a castle in Scotland, or will love get in the way? -- © Sony Pictures [More]

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Rhys Ifans

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Rhys Ifans, Meat Loaf, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee

Director: Ronny Yu

Director: Ronny Yu
Screenwriter: Stel Pavlou
Producer: Eli Selden, Julie Yorn, Jonathan Debin, Andras Hamori, Malcolm Kohll, Seaton McLean, David Pupkewitz
Composer: Casper Kedros, Darius Kedros
Studio: Screen Gems

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