Arthur (***)

Directed by: Jason Winer

Starring: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner, Luis Guzman, Geraldine James, Nick Nolte

Seen: May 13^th 2011

*** Out of ****

Arthur is the story about a loveable but very irresponsible billionaire living off his inherited money with no prospect of ever growing up. Arthur Bach (Brand) is a party animal, and the movie starts with him and his chauffeur Bitterman (Guzman) dressing up as Batman and Robin, getting in an actual Batmobile (from one of the earlier Batman movies, not the Christopher Nolan Batmobile), and heading towards a formal dinner hosted by Arthur's mother, Vivienne (James). Arthur is arrested, just another one in a long line of drunk and disorderly arrests.

At the dinner, where Vivienne was about to announce Arthur as the new chairman for Bach Worldwide, she heeds advice from Susan (Garner) to attempt to lock Arthur down by arranging for Arthur and Susan to be married. Susan is Vivienne's assistant, the daughter of Burt Johnson (Nolte), a rich and powerful figure in the world of construction, and one of Arthur's ex-girlfriends. Arthur wants to fight this union, as he is absolutely not attracted to Susan, but his mother threatens to cut him off from his $950-million inheritance if he refuses.

Wandering around town one day, Arthur meets Naomi (Gerwig), who runs tours through Grand Central station without a permit, and he helps her to avoid being arrested. He also falls for her sweet charm, and decides to pursue her. The two share beautiful moments all through the film, and their chemistry is undeniable - you root for these two to end up together. But the crazy Susan is on Arthur's case, making things rather difficult for him as he tries to find a way to tell himself the money means nothing and he can make it as a normal person - all the while supported and cared for by his loving nanny, Hobson (Mirren).

The movie is light-hearted and heartfelt. Russell Brand gives a credible performance as Arthur, not hamming it up too much a la Aldous Snow in his previous movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. The ridiculous does surface from time to time, but it fits with his character perfectly, and enhances the chemistry he shares with all the other characters in the movie. Greta Gerwig is charming and wins your heart almost immediately, while Helen Mirren is her usual brilliant self as the selfless Hobson, who has been Arthur's nanny all his life. Luis Guzman and Jennifer Garner also make good as Arthur's sidekick and nemesis of sorts.

I never had the pleasure of seeing the original 1981 Dudley Moore movie that this is a remake of, and I understand that support for this movie ranges among fans of the original ranges from fanatical shoot-down negativity to supporting positivity, which can only mean that the original and this one are mostly on par with each other. Arthur is occasionally very funny, a sweet little romance, innocent enjoyment, and far better than I expected. For a relaxing afternoon requiring nothing but simple enjoyment, one can do far worse than this.