Day 133: "Wash your winky. Thoroughly. Heaven knows what exotic wildlife that girl was harboring between her thighs."

I was pissed off when I found out that the entertainment powers that be had decided to green light a remake of one of my favorite comedies of all-time.  Really pissed off.  The kind of pissed off that possibly requires a support group to get over.  I mean, seriously?!?! A remake of Arthur?!?!  How could anyone top Dudley Moore's portrayal of the world's favorite multi-millionaire drunk?  Who could possibly have the raw nerve to try and top Sir John Gielgud's deadpan perfect performance as Arthur's exasperated butler, Hobson?  I really hate it when I am even the slightest bit wrong.  Yes, technically, this is a remake of the 1981 classic, but this version of Arthur strikes me as more of an homage to the original.  Do not get me wrong here, the 2011 version is an inferior film to its predecessor, but if I had never seen the original, this incarnation of Arthur has more laughs and scenes of honest emotion as any comedy released today.  Can you imagine how surprised I was to find myself really enjoying this?  The story has remained virtually identical to the original:  man-child millionaire drunk must settle down and consent to an arranged marriage or lose his entire inheritance and be forced to *shudder* work.  In the mean time, he finds "the one" and decides he wants to marry her instead, causing mayhem. 

Russel Brand, as much as I hate to admit this, is growing on me.  This is, quite possibly the only human on Earth who could have pulled off the new Arthur Bach.  If you close you eyes and listen, he even sounds like Dudley Moore doing his drunk bit.  It's scary good.  As for Arthur's ever-suffering and sarcastic servant Hobson, the filmmakers went, wisely, with Dame Helen Mirren.  She does a great job in the role, but cannot hold a candle to Gielgud's portrayal, sorry.  The confusing part was Naomi, played by Greta Gerwig.  It seems that every role from the original was transferred to this version, verbatim, except for Linda (Liza Minelli).  Why they decided to change her name is beyond me, but it's the same role.  Oh well, they had to screw something up.

The fact that I enjoyed this, essentially unnecessary, remake, absolutely has shaken me to my core.  I went in fully expecting to loathe this, but came away loving it.  Dudley Moore's Arthur and Sir John Gielgid's Hobson will always be the pinnacle of mismatched characters for me, but the new pairing of Russell Brand and Dame Helen Mirren gives a new generation their own Arthur and Hobson to laugh with.  Besides, I'm sure that both Arthurs would be drinking to each other's wealth while both Hobsons are behind them, facepalming.  8.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!