I love the Dudley Moore film “Arthur”, it is a funny, charming and a completely irresistible film, mostly due to Mr. Moore himself. His charisma is electric. When I heard that the remake was coming I felt a little queasy. Then I heard that Helen Mirren would be taking on the Sir John Gielgud role of Hobson from the original and I felt a little better. The announcement that Russell Brand would play Arthur brought back that queasy sensation again. I like Russell Brand, he is a funny guy and he was very funny in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” but he is a particular style of comedian and doesn’t have the naive innocence or charm that a character like Arthur requires.
A few weeks back a trailer surfaced for the new remake and that queasy feeling came right back. It was remarkably unfunny.
So now a second trailer has been released and I am not quite as appalled as I was. I still don’t think Russell Brand is right for the role but it is now hitting the right beats from the original and Helen Mirren looks fantastic. I don’t think it is going to be a great film but it may offer up a few laughs here and there. I would recommend that you just go watch the original.
If you really must, you can watch this trailer in HD by shooting over to Apple.
What do you think? Avoid or watch? Comment below.
