Title: Arthur
Director: Jason Winer
Ok, don’t ask me why, but I do really like Russell Brand. I’m not sure exactly what it is about him that I like though. Could be the accent, could be his type of humour, could be his nonchalant manner of conduct in every character that he plays. Whatever it is, that’s what made this movie for me.
Helen Mirren is an amazing actress, and honestly, it surprised me a bit to see that she’d chosen to do a role like this. She doesn’t strike you as a comedic actress, so you won’t be surprised to hear that her character as the nanny isn’t a very funny one. She has her moments, but none that you really remember. She plays the part well, but the character wasn’t strong enough for me to really enjoy, which is a shame for the secondary character in the movie.
Jennifer Garner’s character is much of the same. She has funnier moments than Helen Mirren, but nothing to laugh out loud about.
It seems that all the comedy in this romantic comedy was left up to Russell Brand to take care of, and he steps up to that plate every time. The dialogue that was supposed to be funny for the other characters was shadowed by the responses that Brand gave. He brought the dull lines out of their slump with the quick, and sometimes witty, remarks.
The love portion of this story was pretty blasé for my tastes. Naomi was a little boring, and Greta Gerwig didn’t do anything with the character to add a bit of excitement. When Arthur is given an ultimatum- marry Susan or lose his millions of dollars of inheritance- I would have liked to see a lot more of him trying to survive in the real world. I think Winer could have taken it in a different direction. Maybe make the ultimatum “learn to take care and prove yourself as a capable human being, or lose the inheritance.” That would mess around with the love story though, since Naomi is supposed to represent the girl that his mother doesn’t approve of, unlike Susan, who is beautiful and wildly popular. I just think that a story of a man changing his life as he knows it would have had more comedic opportunities than those presented in this film.
It was a lot better than I was expecting it to be, but don’t rush out to go see it. If you’re a Russell Brand fan then sure, but otherwise, you can wait to meet this billionaire in the comfort of your own home.
