Visitors Review

SeriousJest (2012-05-25 05:03)

Great cast, weak script, kind of endearing, but not funny

I loved Brand as Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Himto the Greek. However, with a mostly-unfunny script (I have to admitthere were a few witty quips that made me laugh, though), his lovablealoofness just became…idiotic and annoying. What a shame, since thecast was talented, and did the best they could with the lines they weregiven. In particular, I've got to say that I initially did not findGerwig's looks to be right for the leading lady (of course, she wasn'thelped by the silly outfits she wore), but she delivered such a sweet,genuine performance, that by the end she had won me over. Another thingthat this movie did well was incorporate New York City; specifically,its use of Grand Central Station and the Whisper Wall was pretty cool.The film even became kind of endearing in its second half, and almostgot 3 mugs from me…but ultimately, it wasn't good enough as a romanticdrama to make up for its failure as a funny comedy.

bdgill12 (2012-05-24 19:32)

Not Nearly As Bad As You Think, Actually Kind of Fun

Arthur (Russell Brand) is your typical man-child. A twenty (or thirty)something, he acts more like an eight year old and everyone treats himaccordingly. The only difference between Arthur and the typical WillFerrell character is that Arthur is filthy rich, the heir to a businessconglomerate and the fortune that comes with it. He lives in a New Yorkhigh rise with his chauffeur/friend, Bitterman (Luis Gonzalez) and hisnanny, Hobson (Helen Mirren), and spends his days terrorizing thepolice in his Batmobile and buying ridiculous things at auction (likethe suit Abraham Lincoln died in, which he then wears). His carefreelife is put to the test, however, when his mother, Vivienne (GeraldineJames) decides she's had it with his embarrassments. She offers Arthura choice: marry Susan (Jennifer Garner), an ambitious woman who Arthurhates or lose his claim to the family money. Complicating his decisionis Naomi (Greta Gerwig), a lower class free spirit that Arthur hasbecome infatuated with. With limited time available, Arthur must growup quickly and figure out what it is that truly makes him happy.Arthur had three strikes against it going in: 1. The trailer ishorrendous, the type of "advertisement" that sandbags its intendedbeneficiary before viewers even step into a theater. It's almost as ifthe studio purposefully picked out the most annoying parts of the movieto include in the trailer. Ouch. 2. I'm not a fan of Brand and I'venever understood his charm. To be fair, Get Him to the Greek (and hisperformance in particular) grows on me every time I happen to catch apart of it on HBO but everything else he's ever done has left meunimpressed. 3. I, like almost everyone else in the world who does notwork in Hollywood, am against unnecessary remakes. No one wanted a newArthur. NO ONE.But for all the negatives coming in, I confess I quite enjoyed my timewith Arthur. The entire movie is one absurdity after another, to besure, but I had fun regardless. Arthur operates within a vacuum inwhich it creates its own environment and sets its own rules(a New Yorkin which everyone treats Arthur the way a small town would treat apre-teen in the 1950s) almost like you'd see in a fantasy or sci-fifilm. More importantly, the film holds to that environment and thoserules and this sort of total escapism serves it well. From a comedystandpoint, too, you could do a lot worse than Arthur. It's all veryjuvenile, of course, but when you're in the right mood and the jokesare plentiful, sometimes easy jokes are the best kind. Arthur is filledto the brim with those and I laughed more than I would have everdreamed coming in.As far as the performances go, I suppose you couldn't really call whatBrand does "acting" since he is basically portraying a cartoon-likeversion of himself. But what he manages to do with Arthur as opposed tosome of his other characters is to make him extremely likable andsympathetic, much more so than I would have thought possible given thathe is a selfish, wealthy, immature man-child. I did not expect to rootfor Arthur but I did, in large part due to the healthy amount of heartthat Brand infuses him with. Arthur is a good person who just doesn'treally know how to be a good person and while his redemption isn't thesame as what you might get from a drunk (like the original Arthur), itis nonetheless appreciated. Mirren, too, is solid. Now, I have no ideawhy in the name of The Queen she took this role but since she doesbring an element of respectability to Arthur that the film definitelybenefits from. She and Brand develop a fun relationship throughout thecourse of the film and she serves as a quality straight man to Brand'sridiculousness. Their underplayed dynamic is what makes Arthur work andwhat keeps it from becoming the disaster that I anticipated at theoutset.Check out my reviews at ieatfilms.com

TheGuyWithStuff (2012-05-22 21:45)

Seen Both Movies Both Great

Both are great and what can you expect from Russell Brand besides amovie full of laughs. This movie was well made funny, with bits ofemotional content that will tug at your heart strings. Russell did agreat job playing the out of control character (mainly because hehimself is out of control). All in all the acting was good and thecomedy was great. Laughs everywhere even from some Actors that i wasexpecting to make me laugh. Didn't really differ much from the originalexpect for the Nannies. Great Movie Don't Hate.Thanks,The Guy With Stuff

ahmed-947-221051 (2012-05-22 10:03)

3/10

By AhmedAlKiremli.com Movie Story A drunken playboy can't take care ofhis life or control it, just know how to waste the money of his familyfall in love with a women that's not accepted by his family and forthat reason the family will stop giving him money.Ahmed Al Kiremli Opinion About The Story The story is not that bad butthe director, actors, script made it so bad.About The Director The director involved so many unnecessary scenes tomake the movie more silly, the selecting of actors specially the mainactor Russell Brand was a disaster, the script wasn't helping that muchbut the main actor made it worse.About The Actors Russell Brand very silly and his accent is annoying,artificial and not believable. Helen Mirren was acting well but I don'tknow how she's accepting to act in such a movie, and Jennifer Garnerwas OK and some scenes the acting looked artificial.About The Script Very bad.About The Sound Mixing Nothing difficult.About The Cinematography Simple nice picture.About Movie Soundtrack & Music Nothing interesting.Ahmed Al Kiremli Rating 3/10 Is It In Ahmed Al Kiremli's Must WatchList? No Is It In Ahmed Al Kiremli's Great Movies List? No

kdnj (2012-05-22 02:48)

A financially spoiled, but loved deprived 30-ish man finds there's more to life than spending wildly.

I found this movie to be appealing. It seems a lot of reviewers wentinto the theater already knowing they were not going to like this filmbecause they are fans of the original. Well then - why go at all? Youhave to approach this film as something new; then you will enjoy asimply entertaining film. Not a blockbuster; but entertaining. RusselBrand is very good, but I did find some of his lines hard to hearbecause they were very soft spoken. There are a number of funny, "underthe breath" comments that I think were missed by some in the audience.Helen Mirren was excellent. Jennifer Garner seemed out of place in thisfilm; she did not fit her role. I'm not familiar with Greta Gerwig'sother work. I thought she presented a new, fresh face among young.actresses. I look forward to seeing more from her.

Alex Frey (2012-05-21 09:31)

It was wonderful actually!

Right in the beginning I'd like to point out that I have never nor willI ever compare a remake with the original because this would attractexpectations and a movie is to be seen as an individual piece! What doyou expect from a movie with Russel Brand? Probably not too much depth!It is a pop corn movie in some way and if you settle for that you willgive this movie probably 5 points! However if you decide to let thismovie sink in a little bit you either love it or hate and that isbecause of Russel Brand! You love him or hate him... I love him becausehe can pack 4 punchlines into one sentence and either you find thatannoying or funny! I actually laughed a lot during this movie and Ithought the cast was absolutely brilliant! Now again big words for aPop Corn Movie but there is indeed a bit more to it! Hellen Mirren hasgiven this film some seriousness that was unexpected and without givingtoo much away the relationship between Arthur and his Nanny (HelenMirren) is the key to the story! The movie has 3 acts white the firstact is a comedy, the second act a love story and the third act a dramawith charming comedy the whole thing was unexpectedly good! I wassurprised about Greta Gerwig playing the love interest Naomi! UsuallyHollywood likes to point out by stunning looks who the one is we haveto cheer for but Gerwig is just a very natural woman which wasimportant for the plot and while it was overdrawn in almost any partsit had believable moments! The Movie clearly shows what we forget toappreciate in our daily lives. The main plot was love or money but inthis remake the entire movie had a sub text to it where it is aboutfriendship, family and the little things in live like a bowl of soup!That is mainly why I loved this movie! I saw the original, I knew howit would end so that was no bog thing but portraying Arthur as anaddict was a great idea! I can't give for a comedy 10 stars but i giveit proper 8 stars rating simply because it surprised me with theparallel plot! Worth to watch it and absolutely not to compare to theoriginal which is the only way to go!

TheTruthDoor (2012-05-21 07:59)

OMG, Forget It.

Who cares about the original, this movie can't even stand on it's ownfeet. The acting was no where near believable, Helen Mirren could noteven be believable and that is saying something. Her last scene waslaughable and it was suppose to be a serious moment in the movie.The good reviews that you read here are obviously written by teenagegirls that have a crush on Russell Brand. I like him and think he is abreath of fresh air in Hollywood, but this was a bad movie in justabout every way.If you just have to see it, do yourself a favor and wait for it to comeout on DVD...it will be just as meaningless on the small-screen.

Film Watchin Fool (2012-05-20 15:37)

Made Me Miss the R-Rated Russell Brand

Watch this if...a marginally entertaining comedy with a PG-13 versionof Russell Brand is something you want to see. I am a much bigger fanof the R-rated Russell Brand, but the movie is decent.Acting/Casting: 6* - I have enjoyed Brand more in Forgetting SarahMarshall and Get Him to the Greek, but he does a well enough job. HelenMirren is great as Arthur's assistant/maid Hobson. Jennifer Garner,Greta Gerwig, and company do a solid job as well.Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 6* - Nice job directing and somecool scenery in Grand Central Station. Nothing really to rave orcriticize for this part of the film.Plot/Characters: 5.5* - I haven't seen the original with Dudley Moorefrom 1981, but even then the plot is nothing new. Arthur is avulnerable character that faces the predicament of choosing love overmoney with multiple forces pulling him in either direction.Entertainment Value: 6* - Although it is nothing new and Brand has beenbetter, the movie still manages to entertain. Worth a rental orchecking out when it ends up on television.My Score: 6+6+5.5+6 = 23.5/4 = 5.9

MovieProductions (2012-05-19 22:19)

Tedious, unfunny, long, just a big mess

* out of (****)After giving such a rancid review to "The rite", making the claim thatit was the worst film so far of 2011, well... 2011 has a new contender.Even going in, I knew this film was going to be atrocious from start tofinish. Why see it then? Apparently my friend's fun night out consistedof buying my ticket to a movie I didn't ask to see, then having toreimburse him/her later, and eventually just seeing the damn movie. Honestly, I kept in open mind in the beginning, but this film just didnot do it for me. Even in the most stale comedies, I can laugh here orthere. I NEVER laughed or chuckled. Not even a heartfelt smile. Ihonestly sat there with the same blank expression. What's even worse isthat I predicted absolutely every scene, guessed every punchline, andeven knew going it what I was going to get. First of all, let's talk about the performers. Russell Brand isseriously the most irritable, pretentious actor, or at least in thisfilm. I swear, I did not care at all about him. He didn't bring anycharm or wit, he was just flat. Jennifer Garner was as equallyobnoxious, but at least she didn't take up the majority of the film. Asfor the others? Honestly, I didn't connect to any characters. There wasno development, no depth, no purpose. The characters were just there. Not to mention, this story has been told a thousand times before. CanHollywood stop beating a dead horse? Remake or not, the script is justvery uninspired. Rich, pretentious dude has to marry an equally rich,pretentious dude, but falls for an arrogant, so called "sweatheart" anddoesn't care about the "money". Maybe this would be interesting had itnot been projected on the screen so many times.All in all, "Arthur" is just another waste of celluloid. It isn'tfunny, it's not entertaining, and it's not worth seeing. Plain andsimple. Had I not been forced to see this movie, trust me, I wouldn'thave. If you MUST see it, please just rent the original. It's probablybetter than this movie. All I'm glad is that 2011 so far has had onlytwo stinkers, or at least I've seen.

Gordon-11 (2012-05-19 10:40)

Good for lighthearted entertainment

This film is about a young alcoholic man who has to marry a woman whomhe does not love, so that he can get his billion dollar inheritancefrom his mother."Arthur" is a lighthearted comedy about a rich young man, who is stilla child at heart. He has no sense of responsibility, as he does nothave to work for any of the material wealth he has. Despite hisimmaturity and egocentricity and childishness, Arthur is a likablecharacter. If other comedians portray him, he would easily becomeirritating and even offensive. So well done to Russell Brand. Theromantic comedy element is also engaging and entertaining, so I find"Arthur" a good film for brainless entertainment.

Hellmant (2012-05-17 10:39)

Especially insulting in today's economy!

'ARTHUR': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Remake of the 1981 (some would say classic) Dudley Moore film 'ARTHUR'.This one stars Russell Brand in the title role, as a self indulgentalcoholic man child who falls in love with a girl he doesn't deserve.It's directed by Jason Winer (who's only other credit is directing TV,most notably 13 episodes of 'MODERN FAMILY') and written by PererBaynham (based on a script by Steve Gordon). I don't remember the Moore80's film and therefor don't have fond memories to compare it to. I cansay this version neither lived up to nor disappointed my expectations.It was mostly a waste but mildly amusing.Brand plays Arthur Bach, the heir to an indescribable fortune but onlyif he marries an equally self absorbed heiress (Jennifer Garner). Hefalls for a poor self employed tour guide (Greta Gerwig) who's so farout of his league that the movie is insulting to suggest she would evenconsider going out with him. She supposedly see's through his selfishhumanity wasting exteriors and is attracted to him, despite hisapocalyptic endorsing flaws. A sweet romance develops.This movie is especially insulting in today's economy but it does havesome good laughs, decent performances and adequate directing. Brandisn't bad in the lead but he's so much better in ensemble casts likethe turns he played in 'FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL' and 'GET HIM TO THEGreek'. The supporting cast is no more impressive, except for HelenMirren who is the best reason to see this movie. Garner looks beautifulbut embarrasses herself here and Gerwig looks cute (I'm sure she's apromising up and coming actress but here her only skill is appearinglikable). Next time you're watching 'SCHINDLER'S LIST' remember thismovie when Oscar is talking about all the lives he could have saved bynot purchasing a pen.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pWEHzfCd7M

James Smith (2012-05-17 05:34)

A Brand new Arthur

Being a fan of Dudley and the original movie, I started watching thiswith some trepidation, probably ready to unleash criticism at theslightest weakness. You soon, however, realise that this is acompletely different take on the idea and I had the feeling thateveryone was perhaps trying a little too hard to be funny. There wascertainly some snappy dialogue and it was a colourful, slushyexperience that didn't succumb to my notoriously low boredom threshold.Overall, a lot of fun, despite some slightly nervy acting in places anda few scripting issues. Not laugh out loud like dear old Dudley, but anadmirable attempt when you consider just how good the original was.

John_aaron_23 (2012-05-16 05:45)

Comparing this to the Original

Russell Brand just plain sucks. He's like the British version of TomGreene or Pauly Shore. There is no way he should have been in the samemovie with Helen Mirren, much less star in a remake of a Dudley Mooreclassic. If you all just stay quiet and leave him alone, he may just goaway. I still can't believe he's the one doing Katy Perry. Brand hasgot to have the worst sense of humor of them all. I hope somehow hefinds out he sucks and maybe he can re-invent himself cos he is soannoying. If he is going to hang around, I hope he changes his actingstyle because it just plain looks like he doesn't care and with allthis money at stake nowadays with movies, he needs to care about whatthe public thinks. If he don't, he's this generations Pauly Shore.

theresemot4 (2012-05-15 15:29)

Loved it!

I loved it. I thought it was funny and very entertaining. I laughed andI cried...Helen Mirren was great as the butler. Making the butler was agreat touch. They had tremendous chemistry together. I was not thrilledwith the choice for Naomi. I thought they should have had someonefunnier or at least better looking. Her outfits were ridiculous.Jennifer Garner cannot pull off a bad guy in a romantic comedy. It isnot in her range of acting. Russell Brand is great as Arthur. He is mynew favorite actor. He did a great job at the funny moment and thetouching ones too. I hope to see more of him in the future. I wouldrecommend this movie.

Juan E. Robles (2012-05-13 19:58)

Better than expected, but still doesn't hold a candle to the original.

I have to admit, when I saw this movie, I was expecting next tonothing. I was wrong. I agree, Russel Brand is no Dudley Moore. (Imean, come on, nobody else could have played such an iconic character.)But the Arthur had a good story. Here, Russel Brand's Arthur is farmore reckless than Dudley Moore's Arthur. (To the point that RussellBrand's Arthur get arrested.) Jennifer Garner's portrayal of Susan is far more extreme than theoriginal. Here, Susan isn't just some spoiled rich girl, who issomewhat clueless, but rather this Susan is a gold digger. And then there's Hobson, played by Helen Mirren. As it is, I love HelenMirren, (Excalibur, 2010, etc.) I loved the way she played the part asa stern, yet compassionate mother figure to Arthur. While this movie is in no way better than the original, I think thatthis is one of the better remakes as of late. (Way better than Clash ofthe Titans.)

featheredsun (2012-05-13 15:31)

A Whimsical and Sometimes Somber Fairy Tale

This movie is a charming and sometimes touching one. Clever scriptingand naturalistic acting lend a very human warmth to over-the-topcharacters.The key to the film is this warmth, and that's why I give it highmarks. It doesn't simply try to make us laugh at the Wacky Briton or beshocked by his consumptive lifestyle. It explores the nuances ofaffection, anarchy, and loss in a lively and caring way.Don't see it expecting "shocking raw comedy by a bad boy" and it shouldgo over much smoother. It's really a very simple film and doesn'tpretend to be a challenger for "Get Him to the Greek" or a greatromance, but it achieves poignancy and entertainment, which was goodenough for me.

Dany Danersson (2012-05-13 17:01)

Waste of my time.

This movie is a waste of money and my time. waste of my time waste ofmy time waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime waste of my time waste of my time waste of my time waste of mytime

joyday (2012-05-13 05:46)

English accents are subdued for American audiences

I loved every minute of this modern version of "Arthur." We're livingin the present and wouldn't think of judging it by the 30 year oldfilm. This link is 4 minutes long, and is an interview done by IMDbwith Russell Brand on the subj. of his movie "Arthur" 2011.http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3369245977/Helen Mirren, always by his side, has been his nanny since birth, andLuis Guzman plays his chauffeur, so he is not a drunk driver eventhough he is drinking in the first half of the movie. He goes to AA,which is not a spoiler; it just makes the movie doable! Think of being so rich that you give someone $10K to let you wear theircostume for one hour; it is this sort of wild unimaginable mischiefthat makes this movie for me. Also, that Russell Brand is an adorableguy, skinny, tall 6'3" with dark wavy hair.If you have trouble with English accents, this movie is edited forAmerican audiences; only Russell and Helen Mirren and a couple of bitparts have the English accent. Dame Helen is great at comedy, much likeDame Judi Dench. Russell is comparable to Dawn French (The Vicar ofDibley) in that in-your-face-funny way.I believe the low rating it got, 5.6/10 instead 9/10 which is myrating, is likely to be that some Americans can't always get the selfdeprecating English sense of humor; I feel for these people!A nice wedding song I haven't heard for awhile is "Going to theChapel."Grand Central Station and skyscrapers in New York City are wonderful.We get several skyline views of Russell's home, recognizable by itsaqua roof; it is a penthouse.

mia-noisia (2012-05-12 10:09)

Why you don't use talentless Boyfriends of celebrities

How this guy keeps getting into movies i don't know.Shockingly bad youcan see Brand's mind ticking over trying to do something funny, andfailing.Most of the time he's just doing a poor Dudley impression.Itsalmost an insult to Dudley Moore.Hollywood sure is desperatenowadays.This is why you don't use TV presenters as lead in comicroles.Brand tried his hand at stand up, and it was a lot worse thanthis film (ponderland). He needs to stick to what he knows best,presenting trashy reality TV gossip shows. Hopefully the lastinstalment of a desperate attempt at a career in comedy.And on behalfof the United Kingdom may i thank Katy Perry for taking the annoying**** off ours hands.

jambee (2012-05-11 17:47)

A funny, real, and heartfelt movie that goes above and beyond the original Arthur

Having scene the original film and being a huge fan of Russel Brand, myheart was set on seeing this movie at the theatre. I wasn't quite surewhat I was going to be served going into this remake or if it wouldlive up to the original, but I wanted to give it the benefit of thedoubt. In all honesty, I was expecting them to make Arthur kind ofridiculous, look stupid, or just throw in the type of stupid comedythat many of the comedies are turning into these days. If I was judgingit based on some of the trailers, especially the "wash your winky"scene, then I shouldn't be far off right? Wrong! Instead while watchingthe film I was pleasantly surprised and even exited. I think thisremake did what any remake should do and give the story a new life andtake it above and beyond the original. There was many parts in theoriginal that skipped through scenes or ideas too fast, where in thisone they chose to deal with it (for example Arther's mother and hisalcoholism). Even Arthur's love interest is a lovable character thatdoesn't seem as needy or off track as the original character. It wascharming, witty and heartfelt. I think it even went to a deeper levelthen the original. At one moment I was even a bit teary-eyed. If youwant a movie that is funny, real and tells a great story definitely seeArthur.