Sunday 24 April 2011

Who wouldn't want to marry a sexy clown.

Arthur (2011)
Chosen by me as I like to go to the cinema a lot.


I have moaned about a few cliches I am very tired of over the past 113 movies (abuse as tool of empowerment back in film 93 being a most hated example - yay, get yourself on that rape ladder to success kids!) and Arthur has one that can really throw me out of a movie.
It comes towards the end but is building up to it throughout the whole film. No matter how bad the match, no matter how nice the person is generally, if they dump someone on the altar it drives me crazy. It's lazy drama 101. Creating a false conflict and resolution. Just no need for it. His mother may have respected him for finally becoming his own man but I would have respected him much more if he had come to the decision earlier, say before wedding invites are handed out.
Apart from that it's intermittantly amusing, Brand performs his man child with a hint of intelligence hidden behind the eyes but the romance between him and poor working class woman feels as rote (she's barely in the trailer and not mentioned on the poster showing how important marketing thinks she is) and forced as the arranged marriage with the greedy tycoon wannabe. She is kind of adorable though, the sort of role Zooey Deschanel usually plays filled nicely by Greta Gerwig.

2 comments:

  1. That's weird -- Greta Gerwig is on the posters around town at bus stops. A different poster:

    http://www.daemonsmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/arthur-movie-poster-02-550x880.jpg

    Although it might be in the minority I dunno.

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