Whether or not Arthur is a movie worth seeing is mostly going to come down to your opinion of the film’s main star. If you don’t care for Russell Brand’s comedic style, then this is a movie you should avoid, as it is first and foremost a showcase of the persona he has developed over the past few years.
That being said, fans of Brand should also be wary before heading to theaters. Though Brand’s performance heightens a lot of the comedy in the film, much of Arthur remains bogged down by problematic elements.
A remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore film, Arthur follows the titular character as he enjoys a lavish playboy lifestyle. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Arthur Bach, played by Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek), has spent the entirety of his life playing games and partying, never entering into the adult world.
All of this changes when his mother threatens to cut him off from the family fortune unless he goes through with an arranged marriage with Susan Johnson, played by Jennifer Garner (Juno, The Invention of Lying). Arthur reluctantly agrees, but soon begins falling in love with Naomi, played by Greta Gerwig (Greenberg, No Strings Attached), an average woman who is the complete opposite of the power-hungry Susan.
This love triangle encompasses only part of the plot, which also includes Arthur’s relationship with his nanny Hobson, played by Helen Mirren (The Tempest, Red), the character’s attempts to become sober and his overall journey into adulthood.
In all honesty, the biggest problem Arthur has is the sheer amount of plot in the film. Though all of these storylines were present in the original, they were dealt with far more efficiently, allowing more humor to be mined from Dudley Moore’s antics as the drunken Arthur.
This is where fans of Brand will need to be the most considerate. The casting of Brand as Arthur is perfect, given the actor’s real life history of drug use and partying.
However, with the plot taking up so much screen time, there are very few instances where the character gets to do crazy things. As a result, it feels as if Brand is being forced to reign in the chaotic nature that has made him so popular, for much of the film. The scenes where Brand does get to cut loose are the funniest the film has to offer, but are unfortunately few and far between.
Another problem of the large plot is that the different storylines are never juggled well, making for uneven pacing. One part late in the film changes the tone radically for about ten minutes, and, though it is well-acted, feels severely out of place.
The supporting cast manages a fair enough job, but none of the other characters really jump off the screen the way they should. Garner’s manipulative and unhinged Susan feels a bit too over-the-top, and she doesn’t seem believable enough as the successful business woman she’s supposed to be.
Gerwig fares better as the free-spirited love interest, and there seems to be genuine chemistry between her and Brand.
Even stronger is the relationship between Arthur and Hobson, thanks in no small part to Mirren. The actress plays the straight-laced character well, making the scenes where she joins in with Arthur’s madness that much more enjoyable.
Other characters, such as Bitterman and Susan’s father Burt, played by Luis Guzman and Nick Nolte respectively, are given so little to do, it’s a wonder they were even included.
Though some of the characters feel unnecessary, the casting isn’t the biggest failing of Arthur; that honor is reserved for the script. Though some scenes provide a few genuine laughs, the majority of the movie is plagued with uninspired jokes and lame one-liners.
The film also falls back on some of the most clichéd tropes, including one scene where Arthur tries to exit a room but enters a closet instead.
This goes back to the problem of Brand seeming as if he was kept on a short leash during filming. Though the occasional line will obviously come from his obscene, scatterbrained sense of humor, it feels as if the majority of any ad-libbing he may have done was left on the cutting room floor. It begs the question—why remake a movie as a star vehicle if you aren’t going to let the star do the driving?
Overall, Arthur isn’t a complete failure. There are more than a few fun moments, and Brand perfectly captures the spirit of the character Dudley Moore made famous 30 years ago. Unfortunately, the film as a whole feels unnecessary. Unless you are a huge fan of Brand, you’ll probably be better off tracking down a copy of the original film.
