Arthur Review
Arthur -- both the movie and its lead character -- is an anachronism. The tag line for the movie says it all: "I race cars, I play tennis, I fondle women, but I have weekends off and I am my own boss!" Not since the genial, sophisticated comedies of the '30s has a central character been so happy to spend his time getting sloshed and living the high life. Unfortunately, humorous drinking and hangover scenes (see the last quarter of The_Philadelphia_Story) went out of favor sometime around 1950. Arthur does its best to recapture the tone of drunken frivolity, but it's more than just the consequence-free drinking that makes it a tribute to those glory days. The eternal conflicts between tradition and freedom, class and happiness, and youth and age are also reminiscent of that time. There's even a crazy father-in-law-to-be straight out of a Leo McCarey movie. But, everything is sure to stay nice and light, and Dudley_Moore and his grinning English sensibility are perfectly cast in the title role. He is funny (if slightly annoying after a while) in his manic moments and endearing in his quieter ones. British veteran John_Gielgud finally won an Oscar for his perfectly measured performance as Arthur's long-suffering father figure/butler. Brendon Hanley, Rovi
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