The following review originally ran on Starpulse.com in 2010.
British comedian Russell Brand has proven that he can play endearing rascals with the greatest of ease. He initially won over audiences with his wacky rock star Aldous Snow in the romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He delighted them again in the spin-off film Get Him to the Greek, which featured Snow in his own set of comically debaucherous adventures.
His latest movie Arthur, a remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore picture, has Brand starring as the title character, a rich ne’er-do-well with a drinking problem. Arthur is a child trapped in a man’s body, but Brand’s loveable scamp is still charming due to his consistently droll sense of humor. He possesses a certain whimsical nature and unabashed honesty that you can’t help but admire.
Arthur lost his father as a young boy, leaving his mother Vivienne (Geraldine James) to raise him on her own. The wealthy socialite was always more interested in her business than raising a child, so she hired Hobson (Helen Mirren), as full time nanny to look after him.
Arthur matured physically under Hobson’s watch; however he never grew up emotionally, because he was not forced to earn anything for himself. As a result, Arthur lives his days drinking to excess, partying, womanizing, and engaging in outlandish behavior that embarrasses his mother while Hobson continues to clean up after him.
When Arthur gets arrested for his latest stunt, Vivienne decides she can no longer tolerate his antics. She comes up with the idea for Arthur to marry her employee Susan (Jennifer Garner), a tough independent woman who thrives on ordering others around. Susan promises Vivienne she will turn Arthur into an obedient man, while she looks after the family business.
Vivienne issues Arthur an ultimatum: he must marry Susan or he will be cut off from his riches. While he has no interest in marrying the uptight and manipulative Susan, he reluctantly agrees because he can’t live without his money. What Arthur does not count on though, is stumbling onto true love, when he meets Naomi (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring author struggling to support her elderly father.
He makes the unwise decision to try to juggle both of the women, as he continues with his plan to marry Susan, and tries to pursue his feelings for Naomi. The resulting chaos that ensues is hilarious but it also challenges Arthur in positive ways though to grow and mature as an individual.
As a former drug addict in real life, Brand brings unique believability to the rogues that he plays, because he has really survived wild partying. This shows through in his drunken rambling where he mutters various ridiculous thoughts that pop into his head. These random musings seem largely to be improvised, like a particularly uproarious scene where Brand is at a piano drinking and making up songs about the various gifts Susan is receiving for her bridal shower.
Aside from Brand himself, part of what makes Arthur so funny is that the character has multiple comedic foils: his mother, his nanny, and his fiancé. He banters with each one in a humorous way, unleashing his drunken thoughts and unfiltered honesty upon them. This provides him more opportunities to make us laugh. Another key ingredient though, is the pop culture references that are featured in Arthur’s outlandish behavior, like Batman, Back to the Future, and Looney Tunes.