Arthur Blu-Ray Review

Movie Review

Arthur (Russell Brand) is a rich, alcoholic playboy with no regards to his working life.  After another drunken run-in with the law, his aloof mother (Geraldine James) has had enough and forces him to marry Susan (Jennifer Garner), a proper business woman, or else he will lose his inheritance. Just as he’s engaged to Susan, he meets Naomi (Greta Gerwig); a free-spirited girl who Arthur thinks is perfect for him.  Any attempts at holding down a job are fruitless, so Arthur has to decide, what is more important, love, or his mother’s money.

Your love of this movie depends on how much you like the lead actor while also forgetting about the original; while Russell Brand has some of the charm that Dudley Moore had he doesn’t entirely pull it off.  This is a film for our time too, with the recession in full swing, Arthur’s excess and money spending is seen with even more distaste here.  While his descent into alcoholism and his rise to sobriety being glossed over somewhat in this rendition, i distinctly remember the original having a decidedly heavy hand when dealing with this.  While the modern day equivalent seems too scared to delve into the dark depths of the addiction and it comes across as if they’re making fun of it at times.

The acting is pretty good with Russell being his usual British toff type character which he does in everything but he does bring an element of genuine tenderness to the role in the latter half of the movie.  Helen Mirren is great as the butler but she isn’t given anything different to do and could have done it in her sleep.  New indie film sensation Greta Gerwig is an up and comer on the movie scene, having been in last years ‘Greenberg’ with Ben Stiller and popped up in ‘No Strings Attached’ earlier in the year, she has that kooky, sweet girl next door vibe here and she may go into the big time in a few years’ time.  Also Jennifer Garner is in a one note role as the forceful fiancé while Nick Nolte is devilishly good as her father.

This is director Jason Winer’s first feature film, while he has an extensive career in TV shows from Modern Family to Samantha Who?, here he brings a zest to proceedings bringing inventive camera work along with some cool animated sequences too.  While writer Peter Baynham doesn’t quite inject enough new plots to the story to increase interest in what is going on, it is a shame too as he has written for the TV series Brass Eye and the films Borat & Bruno in the past, it seems like he is relying more on Brand’s improvisational skills more so than coming up with his own stuff.

Video Presentation

The print itself is nice and clean, with some natural grain visible throughout but also some occasional unwanted noise.  With that said, a few scenes do exhibit a minor smearing quality which may be indicative of some sporadic use of DNR.  Detail is strong, however, providing a nice level of depth to certain sequences, showing off the architecture and flashing lights of New York City.  The main strength and weakness to the presentation is the film’s extremely vibrant colour palette.  While colours do pop off the screen, they also appear over saturated and unrealistic.  Contrast and black levels also follow in a similar vein, with an overly aggressive presentation leading to blown out whites and crushed shadow detail.  The transfer seems to accurately represent the filmmakers’ intentions of furthering a slightly fairy tale quality, but the forcefully bold and rich colours might be an eyesore to some.

Audio Presentation

Like many comedies of this type, the audio is serviceable but bland, with some occasional bursts of life.  Dialogue is crisp and easy to understand while directionality between the front soundstage is good, but surround activity is very sparse, with some very soft music cues and faint atmospheric effects. Dynamic range is decent but never much of a factor, and bass does kick in every now and then with some of the music choices.  Balance between elements is handled well, placing emphasis on the comedic dialogue, giving Brand’s quick witted and often improvised remarks ample room to breathe.  This isn’t demo material by any means, but it gets the job done just fine without any pops, crackles, or other technical issues.

Extras

Arthur Unsupervised – This supplement takes a look at the improvisational nature of the production with some interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and a few clips of extra bits and takes not used in the film.  A lot of Brand’s ad libs showcased here are actually funnier than the lines chosen for the film.  Fans of the comedian will want to check this out.

Additional Footage – Seven deleted /extended scenes are presented here and are mainly just small additions to scenes already in the film and don’t really offer much value, making it easy to see why these bits were excised in the first place.

Gag Reel – This is a total waste of time and is mainly just a few brief clips from the film interspersed with Helen Mirren flubbing a few lines.

If you like Russell Brand’s sense of humour then you will thoroughly enjoy this film and while it doesn’t bring anything new to the genre and isn’t a patch on the original, it is still a decent watch.

‘Arthur’ is out to rent or buy on DVD and Blu-Ray now.