Russell Brand’s Arthur Bach is relatively similar to Brand’s own real life persona (pre-Katy Perry) and it doesn’t appear to be too much of a stretch for the comedian as he borrows much of the characterisation from his Aldous Snow guise in Get Him to the Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Accompanying him during his exploits are Luis Guzman’s Bitterman who, despite clearly being a Latino, inexplicably carries that bizarre moniker and his nanny Hobson (Helen Mirren), the woman who takes care of Arthur the most (and always has), as his mother is constantly working and was clearly almost never in the picture. Having been embarrassed for the last time by her son’s exploits, Vivienne (Geraldine James) gives him an ultimatum – he is to marry Susan (Jennifer Garner), the Bach employee and well-connected socialite who would be good for business, or be cut off from the money that has provided the lavish lifestyle he’s come to enjoy. After agreeing to marry Susan, Arthur meets a native New Yorker named Naomi Quinn (the impossible to dislike Greta Gerwig) and he must face the decision of whether to go forward with his life living for money or for love.
The film is laden with cliché and the performances are not particularly indicative of anyone putting forth much of an effort, save for a select few. Written by Peter Baynham (Borat), the story it tells is formulaic, and anyone who saw the trailer that featured two of the most over-used trailer songs ever (David Bowie’s ‘Rebel Rebel’ and The Who’s ‘Teenage Wasteland’) shouldn’t be expecting anything too original to appear in the film itself – the dual romantic dilemma has been revisited so many times before. Arthur features moments of hilarity (though many more would be very welcome), and some of the overly extravagant set pieces are very cool (should any of us ever become this rich, the film oozes inspiration), but overall the quality as a complete feature just isn’t as good as it should be. The buck ultimately stops with leading man Brand who, unlike his predecessor, doesn’t possess the innate vulnerability or charm which compelled us to care for Arthur as he boozed himself towards oblivion in 1981. Sluggish and shapeless, Arthur has a few nice moments – such as a date at an emptied-out Grand Central Station and the auction for some of Abraham Lincoln’s attire – but they’re overwhelmed by Brand’s braying and Garner’s embarrassing turn as a high-class shrew.
All negativity aside, the film still features the wonderful performances of Helen Mirren and Greta Gerwig. In the last few years, ‘The Dame’ has shown off an incredibly charismatic and humorous side in some of the characters she has played and it is great to see her in more and more comedic roles. Despite the lacklustre nature of this film, she does admirably well, has the best lines and turns granite to gold whenever she’s on screen. In addition, Greta Gerwig, a popular indie actress, is her usual charming self. As Naomi, she exhibits a delightfully doe-eyed and carefree nature and it’s not hard to see why Arthur Bach falls for her. She’s remarkably forgiving of Arthur’s irregularities, considering he has the self-discipline and tact of a Charlie Sheen.
Despite everyone’s best efforts though, the film cannot be saved from a huge dose of mediocrity. In the original Arthur, the film is littered with great moments; in this version, everyone hits their marks, goes through the motions and that’s about it. The spontaneity and gentle whimsy is missing and so is the luxurious wit of Steve Gordon’s original screenplay. Baynham’s script prods along without memorable lines or scenes even when it imitates the original as closely as it can.
Summary
An unnecessary remake filled with crudeness and hit-and-miss wit. It would be wrong to dismiss Brand as a leading man just yet but a few more supporting roles would polish his acting skills and hopefully create a more multi-dimensional nature to his comedic abilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment