Arthur (2011)



“You're running from yourself Arthur.”

“I wish I was, because I'd let me get away.”

            I have never seen the original Arthur. I think I tried sitting through it once when I was younger and I just remember thinking the guy was an idiot and that I could barely understand him. I do plan to eventually watch the original movie but for now I have seen the remake/reboot.

            For those of you who do not know the story of Arthur it is about a man who is a billionaire and he is drunk who enjoys his life to the fullest. This version has the same concept but of course it is modernized. Arthur (Russell Brand) is a young thirty year old also with an alcohol problem. His mother runs a major corporation which makes them billionaires. Arthur runs around New York City doing anything he pleases. The cops all know his name since he is always in trouble. He sleeps with whomever he wants because of his money.

            Arthur’s mother has had enough of him embarrassing her and the company. She gives him an ultimatum to marry a young business girl who she works with named Susan (Jennifer Garner) or lose all his money and he has to get himself a job and make his own money. Susan is an overly ambitious person who only wants to marry Arthur so that she can run the company someday. She and Arthur dated once and she holds a grudge that he dumped her. Well to be fair the woman is nuts and she is also used to getting what she wants.

            Unfortunately for Arthur he has met a girl he actually really cares for. He meets Naomi (Greta Gerwig) as she is giving an illegal tour of Grand Central. He likes her sweetness and her frankness. His mother does not want to hear any of it and neither does his nanny Hobson (Helen Mirren). There is nothing wrong with Naomi it is just that she comes from a blue collar family from Queens and she just gets by money wise.

            I am sure you can guess who Arthur ends up with and that he also goes through something life changing and profound which makes him want to clean up his act.

            The only reason I even sat through Arthur (as well as buy it) was for Jennifer Garner. I am a HUGE fan of hers. I was really happy to see her in something she has not been in a movie for a while. I thought she was fantastic playing Susan who was such a bitch! I always find Garner to be awesome in anything she is because she is so versatile. Russell Brand I can live without. If was not for the fact that Jennifer Garner was in the movie I never would have sat through it. Brand to me is not a good actor and after a while he gets on my nerves. Helen Mirren was wonderful as Hobson. Her British-ness was such a great touch to a very British nanny. Greta Gerwig I had never seen in a movie before and she was adorable and a good actress. It kind of feels like she is out to be the next Zooey Deschanel, there are some scenes where it looked like she was trying to be the other actress (which will never happen because ZD is too awesome for words).  

            Arthur is a cute movie. Despite the fact that Russell Brand was playing the title character I found him to be perfect and I really liked the cast. Give Arthur a try it has some very funny scenes and lines. Now I really want to sit through the original more to see how much funnier it is compared to this one.