Arthur

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« There's not much to be charmed about in this sterile remake of the foibles of a drunken playboy billionaire. Not even the force of Russell Brand and Helen Mirren can lift a weak script. »

« Remake satisfaisant d'un vieux succès populaire du début des années 1980, Arthur offre la chance à Russell Brand de briller comme jamais, notamment en formant un duo attendrissant en compagnie de la vénérable Helen Mirren. »

« Russell Brand has spent much of his short but productive film career playing irresponsible mischief-makers, which should position him perfectly for Arthur, the superfluous remake of a 1981 comedy about a multimillionaire alcoholic with no ambition. »

« As for Brand, continuing his efforts to move from scene-stealer to leading man, he gets toward some real depth and likability near the end of Arthur, even though it's all due to some painfully transparent plot mechanics. »

« The story hasn't changed much, nor have the characters. But the comedy is now crude instead of whimsical and its characters overblown caricatures instead of screwball personalities. A movie has been reduced to a sketch. »

« It's not that Brand doesn't have appeal. He's intermittently amusing and even has bouts of sweetness. But the movie - about a charming drunk who will lose his huge trust fund if he doesn't marry rich - is at best mediocre. »

« Director Jason Winer, in his feature debut, can't find the tonal balance that Steve Gordon did in the original. »

« It would be conventional to describe Arthur as a vehicle for the talents of Russell Brand, who plays the boozy billionaire of the title, but that would be to get it backward. »