ARTHUR (Jason Winer). 110 minutes. Opens Friday (April 8). See listing. Rating: NN
A so-so remake of a very good 1981 romantic comedy, Arthur suffers from one serious flaw: star Russell Brand is the only person allowed to be funny.
Brand’s expansive gestures and bemused air make him ideal for the compulsive joke-making and loopy asides of rich, childish, drunk playboy Arthur, who falls in love with a poor woman but must marry the one his parents have already chosen or be disinherited.
Live-in servant Hobson is the key relationship in Arthur’s life. When John Gielgud played him as a valet in the original, he stole the movie (and copped an Oscar) – his clipped English sarcasm the perfect foil for Arthur’s addled self-indulgence. Helen Mirren’s nanny version is lacklustre, but, then, she’s got fewer lines, shorter scenes and her end of the proceedings seems rushed.
I couldn’t discern any particular reason for changing Hobson’s gender, but it could have worked beautifully. Think of Judi Dench in her M mode from the Bond films.
Likewise, Liza Minnelli as the love interest in the original had more chance to sparkle than the remake’s Greta Gerwig, who is merely winsome and sympathetic.
