Arthur

I know he’s fairly popular, but I just can’t join the Russell Brand bandwagon. The guy’s a one trick pony and he’s simply not all that funny. Now, that is obviously just my opinion. And I willingly sat around while he gained notoriety and dated way, way out of his league with Katy Perry. But not anymore. I can’t stand idly by while Hollywood pisses all over a movie that, while in the usual sense may not be a classic, but is none the less beloved by many.

I know a great many who feel Hollywood is out of ideas. They bemoan the constant stream of remakes that are getting cranked out while more original projects seem to either stall or languish at the box office behind less creative ventures.

Now, I am not totally anti-remake. Sometimes I like the idea of refreshing the special effects of an older horror or sci-fi movie—maybe tweaking an older story line a bit to improve what was lacking in the original. I can’t say every remake is poorly done. It is true that for every Chainsaw Massacre, a remake that worked if you ask me, you get a total shit-fest like Rob Zombies disastrous Halloween reboot. But can’t you say the same for original projects? For every Inception there’s a few My Soul To Takes. You’re gonna see crappy movies, it comes with the territory. So I don’t think remakes are inherently evil.

I do think some movies are untouchable though. Back To The Future, for example. And Arthur.

1981’s Arthur was lightning in a bottle. Dudley Moore simply nailed the character perfectly and his chemistry with John Gielgud’s Hobson is never going to be replicated.  The odds of throwing Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli in front of a camera with relatively unknown director Steve Gordon and having the chemistry work so well, the laughs delivered expertly and the heart strings tugged just so…well, they’re astronomical. You can’t recreate that film anymore than you can find two identical snow flakes in a storm.

Replacing Dudley Moore’s brilliant Arthur with talentless hack Russell Brand is just simply a bad idea. I don’t care if he is the flavor of the week and I am willing to bet he brings nothing to the character other than the same, stale performance he brings to everything else he’s ever done. I have no plans to see this movie and I hope people who remember the original fondly don’t stain the memory with the abortion this is sure to be. There are better remakes out there, you just have to choose wisely.