Arthur

Arthur
Teaser poster
Directed by	Jason Winer
Produced by	Larry Brezner Kevin McCormick Chris Bender Michael Tadross
Screenplay by	Peter Baynham
Story by	Steve Gordon
Based on	Arthur by Steve Gordon
Starring	Russell Brand Helen Mirren Jennifer Garner Luis Guzmán Greta Gerwig Nick Nolte
Music by	Theodore Shapiro Mark Ronson
Cinematography	Uta Briesewitz
Editing by	Brent White
Studio	MBST Entertainment BenderSpink Langley Park Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	April 8, 2011 (2011-04-08)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million[1]
Box office	$45,735,397[2]

Arthur is a 2011 comedy film written by Peter Baynham and directed by Jason Winer. It is a remake of the 1981 film written and directed by Steve Gordon. It stars Russell Brand in the title role, with Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner, Greta Gerwig and Nick Nolte in supporting roles.

Plot

Boozy Arthur Bach (Russell Brand) and his chauffeur, Bitterman (Luis Guzmán), dress up in Batman and Robin suits for a formal dinner hosted by Arthur's mother, Vivienne (Geraldine James). The dinner is intended to announce Arthur as the new chairman of her corporation, Bach Worldwide. Upon driving to the dinner in a Batmobile, intoxicated and being chased by police, Arthur is arrested and released the next day.

Vivienne and her shrewd assistant Susan (Jennifer Garner) arrange a plan to have Susan marry Arthur to allow her to be in control of the company, leaving stable leadership. Arthur refuses, but is told that he will be completely cut off from the $950 million inheritance if he does not marry Susan. Arthur reluctantly agrees and asks Susan's father, Burt Johnson (Nick Nolte), for permission to marry his daughter. Burt agrees after putting Arthur to a table saw and warning him not to embarrass Susan. The next day, Arthur meets Naomi (Greta Gerwig), an illegal tour guide who Arthur takes an interest in to due to her free-spirited nature. He arranges his wedding while sneaking around on dates with Naomi. Arthur's nanny, Lillian Hobson (Helen Mirren) – who normally dislikes all of Arthur's choices in women – gets to know and like Naomi. Arthur learns that Naomi would like to have her children's book about the Statue of Liberty published. Arthur attempts to find employment and other options so that he would be able to keep seeing Naomi and not need the $950 million, but to no avail. Hobson takes Arthur to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where he complains about it being depressing and making him want to drink, then he proclaims he is going to drink while accidentally bragging about his money, and turns to leave the meeting. Hobson stands up and takes the bullet for Arthur, giving his humiliating introduction in his place. Arthur, touched, states if only she would drink in his place as well, he would be set.

Arthur goes to see Naomi at her house and tells her the truth – that he is engaged to Susan. Naomi then tells him to leave. Back home, Arthur calls for Hobson, only for Bitterman to come and tell him that she is in bed with a headache. Later, Hobson goes to Naomi and asks her to give Arthur another chance, but she again falls ill and is taken to a hospital. Naomi calls Arthur to tell him what has happened. He comes to the hospital, meets Naomi and is about to make up with her, but Susan arrives and tells Naomi that Arthur bought the publishing company that was working on her book. Upset, Naomi leaves the hospital. Hobson comes home and Arthur decides to be her caregiver, and the two begin to get along better. But a few days later, Hobson dies, and Arthur reverts back to alcoholism and partying to numb the pain of losing her, being dumped by Naomi and getting married to Susan.

At his wedding, Arthur gets drunk and finds Hobson's last letter to him which tells him to follow his heart. Arthur decides, during the vows, not to proceed with the marriage. Susan and her father become belligerent and begin punching him, which makes Vivienne realize that Susan is only after her company. She still wants her to be Arthur's wife, so she warns him that if he pursues Naomi, he will still be cut off. Arthur strips nearly naked to be rid of all dependency on his mother's money, and runs to Naomi's apartment, and tells her that he just lost his mum, referring to Hobson. She says she can't replace her. She is still upset with him and turns down his offer of getting back together.

Six months later, Arthur is now sober. He goes to a bookshop to buy Naomi's book – which she has dedicated to him – and sees an advertisement for her book reading at a library. Arthur goes to the library, and this time, she takes him back. Arthur gets back his inheritance because he manages the company's charity. The two leave the library and Bitterman drives them through the city in the Batmobile with the police following in pursuit.

Cast

• Russell Brand as Arthur Bach – a childish man who is to marry Susan in order to get his $950 million inheritance, but ends up falling in love with Naomi.
• Helen Mirren as Lillian Hobson – Arthur's nanny who has been looking after Arthur since he was a child due to Vivienne being too busy with the family business.
• Jennifer Garner as Susan Johnson – the woman Arthur is supposed to marry in order to get his inheritance.
• Greta Gerwig as Naomi Quinn – a free-spirited tour guide and Arthur's real love interest.
• Luis Guzmán as Bitterman – Arthur's chauffeur and best friend.
• Nick Nolte as Burt Johnson – Susan's father and Arthur's nemesis.
• Geraldine James as Vivienne Bach – Arthur's mother and the owner of Bach Worldwide, who will give her son his inheritance only if he marries Susan.
• Evander Holyfield as himself
• Jennie Eisenhower as Alexis
• Christina Calph as Tiffany
• John Hodgman as Dylan's Candy Bar Store Manager

Production

In December 2008, Warner Bros. announced they were developing a remake of the 1981 film with Russell Brand to play the title character.^[3] In February 2009 it was announced that Peter Baynham, the writer of Borat, was working on a script.^[4]

In March 2010 it was announced that Jason Winer, best known for directing episodes of Modern Family, was chosen as director, making it his first feature film.^[5] Helen Mirren, who had previously worked with Brand in The Tempest (2010), joined the cast in April.^[6] Greta Gerwig was cast as Arthur's love interest in May,^[7] with Nick Nolte and Jennifer Garner joining the following month.^[8]

Filming took place in the spring and summer of 2010 at locations in and around New York City including St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue, a location used in the original 1981 version of the film. Re-shoots took place in the winter months of 2011. The Daily News Building at 220 East 42nd Street was used as the headquarters of Bach Industries. The scenes in which Arthur first meets Naomi while she is conducting a tour as well as their first date were filmed at Grand Central Terminal.^[9] The scenes of Arthur working in a candy store were filmed at Dylan's Candy Bar, a New York City candy store founded by New Yorker Dylan Lauren, the daughter of Ralph Lauren.

Russell Brand's clothing in the film was inspired by Lapo Elkann.^[10]

Release

Box Office

Arthur finished third in the U.S. box office following its first week of release with an intake of $12,222,756 from 3,276 screens, opening in third place. It had its UK premiere at the O2 in London on 19 April.^[11] At the end of its 28-day release, the film earned $32,854,846 in the United States and $12,700,000 in other markets, for a worldwide total of $45,735,397.^[12]

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews.Thelma Adams of Us Weekly called it "a laugh-out-loud romp – and [Russell Brand's] best screen role to date."^[13] Cinemablend stated "...despite all the odds against him [Russell Brand's] proved himself as a winning movie presence.."^[14] Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, stating that the film "is a fairly close remake of the great 1981 Dudley Moore movie, with pleasures of its own."^[15] Richard Roeper also enjoyed the film, giving it a "B", and although he thought parts of the film were difficult to understand, said, "The new Arthur is a likable comedy with a good heart."^[16] It received a 36 out of 100 rating on metacritic, which gave it the description of 'generally unfavorable'.^[17] Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a score of 26% based on 174 reviews with an average score of 4.4/10.^[18]

Awards and Nominations

• 2011 Teen Choice Awards
  • Choice Movie: Actor Comedy - Russell Brand (nominated)

• 32nd Golden Raspberry Awards
  • Worst Actor - Russell Brand (nominated)
  • Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel (nominated)

References

External links

• Official website
• Arthur at the Internet Movie Database
• Arthur at AllRovi
• Arthur at Rotten Tomatoes
• Arthur at Box Office Mojo