Arthur

In 1981, Dudley Moore was able to thrill millions of moviegoers as the heavily-rich drunkard Arthur. Two Oscars, two more nominations, and a sequel were the result. Now, almost exactly thirty years later, British comedian Russell Brand (Men's Trip) attempts to take on Moore's legacy. The result has become a surprisingly funny and quite charming remake that certainly has a right to exist.

Until now, billionaire heir Arthur (Brand) has seen no real reason to grow up. The prestigious family business is run by his mother with a hard and disciplined hand, and everything else is taken care of by his nanny Hobson (Helen Mirren). But after one of his numerous alcoholic escapades has once again made negative headlines, Arthur's mother bursts the collar and she gives him an ultimatum: either he marries the ambitious and well-situated manager Susan Johnson (Jennifer Garner) and leads with her a respectable, the investors reassuring married life, or he must give up all his money. Since this is out of the question for Arthur, he agrees to the arranged marriage. But that's when the idealistic city guide Naomi (Greta Gerwig) enters his life and shows him that there's much more to life than parties, money and alcohol. For Arthur it's clear: he can't marry Susan, because his heart belongs to Naomi. But is he willing to pay the high price that comes with that decision?

Jason Winer, who has previously worked on the award-winning US comedy series Modern Family, among others, delivers a solid directorial debut with Arthur, which comes across as considerably tamer than the original, but doesn't really suffer for it. Certainly, the comedy's entertainment factor stands or falls on whether or not you like Russell Brand's somewhat habit-forming ways. While the husband of pop star Katy Perry is one of the most successful standup comedians in his home country and could also celebrate great successes as an actor in the USA, he is so far rather unknown in this country. This may also be due to the fact that Brand's humour can only be translated into German to a very limited extent. But those who have seen him in comedies like Männertrip or Nie wieder Sex mit der Ex and could laugh about him there, will get their money's worth here.

What makes Arthur worth seeing in any case is the excellent decision of the makers to make Hobson a woman in the remake. For in the original, Hobson was so wonderfully portrayed by John Gielund, who also won an Academy Award for the role, that it would have been almost impossible for any other actor to fill those outsized shoes. However, now that Hobson is a woman, the relationship between Arthur and his nanny has also been redefined somewhat differently, transforming the character into one all her own, brought to life simply wonderfully by Helen Mirren. Even if there are always some rather flat sillinesses to be seen, as soon as Mirren appears on the screen and has an extremely dry duel with Russel Brand, little hangs are quickly forgotten.

The rest of the supporting cast, from a charming Greta Gerwig (Greenberg) to a wonderfully arrogant Jennifer Garner and a bull-necked Nick Nolte, complete the ensemble perfectly. Even if the script can not really convince in every moment and some gags simply hit the void, but the actors do their best to convince even in the rather weaker moments.

Also, of course, can not miss the Oscar-winning theme song of the original. While Arthur`s Theme (Best that you can do) by Christopher Cross has only been briefly incorporated into the underlying score in a wonderful scene in New York`s Grand Central Station, the song is heard in the closing credits in an unusually jaunty version by Fitz & The Tantrums. No comparison to the beautiful original, but it's very nice to hear this song in the remake as well.

Arthur isn't great cinema, and it certainly doesn't have what it takes to become a classic. But because Jason Winer relies less on infantile humour and instead amusingly elaborates that his main character has just retained his childlike enthusiasm, this remake has become far less flat than was to be feared given current trends in US comedies in particular. Thanks to some very amusing dialogue and a great Helen Mirren applies: for friends of harmless but entertaining Hollywood comedies absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp