Arthur

Arthur Bach (Russel Brand) has everything that he could possibly want. He has a seemingly unlimited supply of money, he is able to do whatever he wants wherever he wants, and he even has his own nanny (played by Helen Mirren) who takes care of his every need. Life could not possibly seem to be bad for Arthur. But Arthur does not seem to care much about his public image and frequently goes out drunk throughout New York on many nights and usually ends up on the front page of the newspaper. His mother (Geraldine James) is fed up with her son (especially because his bad choices put the company's image in jeopardy) and when she meets with Arthur she tells him that unless he marries a worker in the family company, Susan Johnson (Jennifer Garner), he will be cut off from the family fortune. The only thing is that Arthur does not like Susan...at all. But if it means keeping his money, Arthur will do anything. That is until he begins to fall in love with a girl named Naomi (Greta Gerwig). With a little help from his nanny, Hobson, Arthur must decide what is more important to him: his love for money, or his love for Naomi. Now I never saw the original "Arthur" back in 1981 and maybe that's why I enjoyed this film much more than people who did see it so no, there will be no comparing/contrasting in the review. When I saw the trailers for "Arthur," I presumed that it was supposed to be a comedy. When I saw the film, although I did laugh several times, it wasn't as amusing as a decent comedy should be. However, I wasn't really upset at this because the film's story was more important to me than the laughs. While the plot of "Arthur" was nothing original and pretty predictable, it is still quite entertaining and charming. It kept me interested, it kept me from being bored, and it kept me caring about the characters. "Arthur" is also backed up by the great duo of Russel Brand and Helen Mirren. Brand is actually a really good actor who has experience in being hilarious thus he did not disappoint. On the other side, Helen Mirren was my favorite actress in the film with her deadpan humor and charm which turned her character into a more strict, sarcastic Marry Poppins. Together the two actors have good and humorous chemistry on screen and the two contribute the most in making the film what it is. "Arthur" may not be better than the original, or maybe it is (I may never know). But, it does have a few laughable moments, charming characters, and a lovable story. I give it two and a half stars out of four. "Arthur" has a running time of 110 minutes and is rated PG-13 for alcohol use throughout, sexual content, language and some drug references.