Arthur Review

• 18th Sep 2011

Having thoroughly enjoyed the original Arthur film starring Dudley Moore (Arthur), Liza Minnelli (love interest, Linda) and John Gielgud (Hobson, the butler), I was very much looking forward to this remake of the film. As thirty years had passed since the original, I wondered whether the classic story would retain its authenticity and more importantly whether I would be entertained and charmed by the cast and dialogue, as much asthe original film did.

The plot is largely the same: Arthur Bach, drunk, free spirited playboy (Russell Brand) had been given an ultimatum by his wealthy family (here his mother, Vivienne (Geraldine James). He was to marry Susan (Jennifer Garner) or lose the family inheritance.

Susan is a hard -faced businesswoman who wants to marry Arthur for his name and fortune. Hobson is Arthur’s nanny (Helen Mirren) who has looked after him since he was a child. Just after getting engaged to Susan, Arthur meets and falls in love with writer/illegal tour guide Naomi Quinn (Greta Gerwig).

Whilst the main storyline stays unchanged, it seems to me the characters have.  Arthur does not come across as the carefree, ambrosial drunk that Dudley Moore played. Instead, Arthur does not make you feel the least bit sorry for him and even worse, he isn’t very funny. This is a rather surprising thing considering Russell Brand is an accomplished comedian who can bring humour to any situation. This made me wonder if it was down to the screenplay, how much he could do with the lines he was given and ultimately how the directors/writers wanted his character portrayed. I could not help but feel disappointed with the dialogue between Arthur and Hobson. John Gielgudhad very witty lines and the chemistry between Arthur and Hobson was largely based on this wit. Helen Mirren and Russell Brand started off having very little chemistry but it did seem to improve as the film went on. I did ponder whether this lack of chemistry was actually intentional and this was actually how the characters of Arthur and Hobson were to be depicted. The casting was a little odd especially dare I say, Helen Mirren as the nanny; an accomplished talented actress who really had to persist and endure a fairly uninteresting and unfunny role. Jennifer Garner as Susan was a little bizarre and her role was almost slapstick in parts. I also had no idea why Nick Nolte was there to play Susan’s father as his role was just too ridiculous to comment on.

In line with 2011 and its politically correct sectors, this Arthur film gave time to the issue of sobriety as Arthur ended up going to AA meetings and taking of himself where else in the original film, Arthur started and ended the film drunk and still needing looking after.

There are some funny bits in the film part including Arthur’s comments when spying at people through his binoculars when he was in the bath. One slightly Hollywood style ‘fun’ feature is the cars from famous movies that appear including the Batmobile and the DeLorean.

For me, one of the best things that came out from the original Arthur film was its theme music. The song ‘Arthur’s Theme (Best that You Can Do) sung by Christopher Cross and written by Cross, Burt Bacharach and Carole Sager is simply delightful and I would have been happier if they played that song in its entirety and given it some prominence. Who among us would not want to be reminded of being caught between the moon and New York City?

The screenplay was written by Peter Baynham who given his experience of writing for British television, should have made you expect to at least laugh a little more given his experience working with British comedians Steve Coogan in I’m Alan Partridge and also films with Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat and Bruno. One line in the film which I would definitely edit out was Vivienne’s comment about a ‘coffee-coloured president’ which was totally unnecessary. The film was directed by Jason Winer who also is responsible for the incredible ‘Modern Family’ series.

As I absolutely loved the original film, it was always going to be hard for me to enjoy the remake. It just may be that the original cast were just such larger than life actors. It may be that the script of the original film was just so witty and entertaining. This film was never going to win the any Oscars (the original gave John Gielgud and the theme music composers Oscars) but I am happy to have watched Arthur (2011) and perhaps if I saw it without knowing it was a remake, I would have found it a lot more enjoyable. However as I have watched the original, this film has made me appreciate the original film even more which in my view is no bad thing.

Mo Tulloch