TS Review 1: Arthur

TYLER STEVENS REVIEW

ARTHUR

DIRECTED BY: JASON WINER

WRITTEN BY: PETER BAYNHAM

STARRING: RUSSELL BRAND, HELEN MIRREN, JENNIFER GARNER

I have a question: Do you like Russell Brand? If no, this movie is definitely not one for you to see. If you think he’s funny like I do, you actually might have fun. Arthur follows the story of…you guessed it, a man named Arthur who is a rich, drunken man who acts like a child. He is looked after his nanny, Hobson, and hangs out with his chauffer. But when Arthur is forced into an arranged marriage with his inheritance on the line, Arthur has to choose between love and money because of another girl he just met. This is a sweet, at times really funny comedy that has you pleased throughout. Russell Brand delivers his most restrained performance and he is actually quite good as the childish drunk Arthur and he mainly stays to his normal style of comedy, but it definitely works for him. Helen Mirren is the highlight of the cast in her role of Arthur’s nanny. She is often quite witty and funny and at some points is funnier than Brand himself. Jennifer Garner, though, is where the problems come. She feels so out of place in the role she is in. As usually she’d be the romantic lead, she takes on the role of the un-romantic lead which just results in a very bland performance with no real character. Another problem comes when you find Russell Brand and the real female romantic lead, played by Greta Gerwig, don’t have great chemistry. Although very witty, funny with some unexpected jokes here and there, Arthur suffers from a slow second half compared to it’s fast paced, funny every minute first half. The problem is that when Arthur’s character grows up and acts less childish, the comedic sense in the character is gone and what’s left is a rich, upset billionaire moping around. Russell Brand is left with a huge responsibility though, because there is not one scene in the film he isn’t in and he carries the film great. The film is very funny throughout the entire runtime and it certainly isn’t as bad and every critic says. Arthur is pure fun and Russell Brand is great but there is the unavoidable feeling the film could’ve been funnier in the second half.

FINAL GRADE: B-

FINAL SAY: While slow in it’s second half, Arthur is a funny, witty comedy with great performances from Russell Brand and Helen Mirren.