ARTHUR

RYAN: The new movie Arthur stars Russell Brand in the role originated by Dudley Moore back in 1981. It’s not as good as the original, but it’s very cute.

CAROLINE: I never saw the original so I can’t make the comparison, but I found it painfully mediocre. And that’s being generous.

RYAN: I didn’t love it, but I liked it a lot; perhaps because I have such fond memories of the original. It was a staple of my childhood. This new one made me nostalgic, so I might be a little biased.

CAROLINE: That’s likely, because this movie is ostensibly a comedy but it barely made me laugh at all. I might have giggled once or twice, but the writing just isn’t very strong.

RYAN: It didn’t make me laugh out loud either. But honestly, it’s more of a romantic comedy than a comedy, and the love story is so sweet.

CAROLINE: I didn’t find it that sweet. I liked the premise of it, but Greta Gerwig and Russell Brand didn’t have great chemistry. She looked like she was about to crack up half the time. She’s taken a major leap from indie to mainstream movies in the past year, and I found her kind of stiff and unnatural. I do like her though. Not sure why they dressed her in microminis for the whole movie.

RYAN: She plays the role that Liza Minnelli played in the original, and she’s certainly no Liza. I think the more compelling supporting actress role in this one was Jennifer Garner as the scheming woman trying to marry Arthur for his famous name. It was interesting casting for sure; we’re used to seeing her as the good girl.

CAROLINE: I always love her and she was great. The cast is what made this movie tolerable for me. Even Russell Brand wasn’t as annoying as I feared he’d be. He really does look like a woman though with those cheekbones.

RYAN: I really like him. He’s having a big week what with Hop doing so well at the B.O. last weekend. And then of course there’s Helen Mirren as Arthur’s nanny, a role played by a man in the original.

CAROLINE: This seems like kind of a throwaway role for her, but she was fabulous. She’s one of those I’m-great-in-everything-I-do actresses. She’s a national treasure along the lines of Julie Andrews.

RYAN: For the Brits, anyway.

CAROLINE: This movie has both comedic and dramatic elements – it actually was sadder than I thought it would be – but it was really lacking comedy for me. I’m sure the ’80s version had a very different impact. This movie was just lackluster.

RYAN: Well, the original is basically a classic at this point; I almost got choked up when I heard the theme music about halfway through the new version. But a lot of it is my own nostalgia, so I’m not sure if it was me loving this new movie or just fondly recalling the original.

CAROLINE: I’m hoping it was the latter because this just wasn’t a very good movie. I did like that it takes place in NYC though. There are tons of great scenes in Grand Central, Wall Street and other famous NY landmarks that were fun to see.

— BOTTOM LINE —

RYAN: I thought it was very cute but it was probably because of how much I loved the original. The premise is so good and totally worthy of reinterpretation. They’ve definitely updated it for modern times and made it in keeping with today’s economic situation, which I enjoyed.

CAROLINE: I was expecting to absolutely hate it, and I didn’t, but I really can’t say it’s worthy. I wanted to laugh so much more; it just wasn’t very funny. The cast makes it watchable, but other than that I was underwhelmed.

— RATING —