Arthur is a
nice movie, one you’ll enjoy watching and remember fondly, but I will not call it a classic. The writers removed
all forms of complexity that could have made this movie a masterpiece romantic
comedy. Instead, they focused more on the comedic side of the story and kinda
rushed the love between Arthur and Linda.
The rushed romance is similar to the lack of depth between Arthur and the other
woman he was supposed to marry.
Between the two,
it was love at first steal. The movie is far from being classified as
realistic, but it draws your mind (or at least drew mine) to wish for that much
money and so little care.
That’s the character Dudley Moore played in this movie. Moore played Arthur, a
rich, promiscuous adult who refuses to be responsible or mature. His only
trusted companions are those under his employ, like Hobson, his butler.
Now, Arthur was
rich but not depressed enough to wear a hood and call himself Batman. Nor was
he smart enough to make a cool Iron Man suit. The only reality this movie
portrayed was that not all rich people care about gadgets.
Arthur just wanted to drink, get drunk, and have meaningless sex with as many
people as possible.
Things went sour
when Arthur’s father and grandmother asked him to marry a woman to unite both
families.
Arthur wasn’t happy with the idea, but the repercussion of refusing was that
he’d be cut off from his family’s wealth.
Arthur decided to go along with the arranged marriage but faced some stumbles
when he met Linda. Linda was stealing from a shop when Arthur spotted her. She
wasn’t a good thief, and when accused of stealing, Arthur swooped in to rescue
her and fell in love.
That’s the tale
behind the Dudley Moore movie Arthur. We see him try to grow his
relationship with Linda while managing his family’s expectations of an arranged
marriage.
The movie won
two Academy Awards: Best Original Song and Best Supporting Actor for John
Gielgud, who played Hobson. It also won four Golden Globes, one for Dudley
Moore and another for John Gielgud.
A remake, which
was a critical and commercial failure starring Russell Brand as Arthur, was
made in 2008. This original movie, though, was a critical and commercial
success. It’s also ranked 53rd on AFI’s 100 Years...100 Laughs list
and is worth the watch.
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