​If there is one genre in film that is extremely difficult to write about sometimes, it would have to be comedy. Because often times I’ve found that the intricate nuances we find in cinema simply aren’t prevalent here because a comedy is around to one thing and one thing alone, make you laugh as hard as possible. That’s not a bad thing by any means, it just makes it tough for someone reviewing a comedy to say much more outside of whether or not the movie in question is funny. But there are comedies out there that go above and beyond the laughs, that actually have a little heart and depth to them, allowing for us to fawn over more than just the funny, as was the case with the 1981 film, Arthur.
 
Now for those unfamiliar with this motion picture, in this tale we are introduced to one incredibly rich man named Arthur Bach and dear Arthur is at a crossroads in his life. Because his father wants nothing more than for his son to enter into holy matrimony with a young woman the family has hand-picked to be his bride, and Arthur wants nothing to do with her. He simply wants to live the good life and drink it up, but if he doesn’t agree to this arranged marriage, he stands to lose his entire fortune and to make matters worse, Arthur has just met a woman named Linda who has completely and utterly stolen his heart, meaning that he must either follow his heart and lose everything, or keep his playboy lifestyle and spend the rest of his life in misery…
 
Now, at first glance, it would seem that there’s nothing funny to be found about a complex plot such as that, but it’s the characters that matter in comedy, and the actors that bring them to life and that’s really the true magic of this film; Dudley Moore’s portrayal of Arthur Bach. Because Dudley is downright brilliant on screen and his loose cannon approach to the role allows for the audience to never quite know what he’s going to say or do next and that allows for some serious laughs to come forth when a wild one liner escapes his lips and his performance is complimented and enhanced by John Gielgud’s turn as Arthur’s butler, Hobson. Because Hobson’s dry humor is the perfect foil to Arthur’s manic energy and he sneaks in a few scene stealing moments along the way as well.
 
But what makes this film so incredibly different from the average comedy, is the sheer fact that it’s relatable in so many ways. In part because we’ve all been Arthur at some point in our lives, where we feel lost and directionless and are looking for some kind of spark to allow for us to walk our own path, and we’ve all had or will have formative relationships that open our eyes to what we are missing out on in life, whether or not the relationship lasts is another matter, but that feeling of discovery is present here and what impressed me the most about this level of relatability is that the film even went so far as to give us a realistic relationship between Arthur and Linda, wherein they gush over one another unexpectedly as we do when someone captures our heart and well…everything about this film is just downright wonderful.
 
That’s thanks in large part to Steve Gordon’s work as both the writer and director of this motion picture and the care that went into this story shows in every single frame of the film and really, there’s something for everyone in this movie. If you want solid laughs, you’ve got it. If you want a little romance, it’s definitely there and if you’re looking for some tear-jerking moments, Hobson’s journey in this film will provide that for you as well. Either way, they simply don’t make comedies like this one anymore, and that’s a crying shame, because this little gem has withstood the test of time, by focusing on substance over pure chuckles and if you haven’t seen this one, seek it out and give it a watch, you’ll be glad you did. 

The fact of the matter is, there really is no good way to prepare one’s self when it comes to the death of a loved one. Sure, we can acknowledge that we lose people as we get older or work hard to mentally prepare ourselves for such a chilling fact. But when the time comes, the gravity of their loss will hit us hard, and we are ill prepared to deal with the incredible range of emotions our hearts experience at saying goodbye to someone we love and sometimes loss is only complicated further when we discover unexpected truths that we never knew about the people we cared so dearly for.
 
That matters simply because that kind of revelation can change our outlook on that all-important person, and how we respond to such a surprise can impact others that are grieving, putting us in quite the difficult spot, where a tough decision must be made. Do we forgive them for their past transgressions and move on? Or do we stew upon them and make our resentment known to others and all of these elements and questions are explored in incredible and sometimes heartbreaking detail in the sobering and fascinating film; The Descendants.
 
Now in this motion picture we are introduced to man named Matt King. Matt is an attorney, who is working hard on the legal side of a deal that could make his family filthy rich and while he should be on top of the world, his life is in a bit of a tailspin right now. For his beloved wife, Elizabeth, is in a coma as a direct result of a boating accident and to make matters worse, the Doctors have discovered that she won’t ever wake up from it, meaning that the time has come to take her off of life support. Now Matt must find a way to unify his shattered family in this critical time and that will be quite the difficult task, because Matt is the man that everyone is looking to, to guide them through their time of crisis and he’s uncertain as to how he can be a rock, when a revelation about his marriage has shattered him at his core…

​This is a movie that quickly won me over, thanks in large part to its realistic presentation of loss and grief. Everyone deals with the news about Elizabeth in their own special way and the rawness and realism that such emotions are presented with makes this film painfully relatable, to the point where you’re instantly drawn in to see how the King family will cope with this crisis, and the beauty of the film is that it doesn’t offer up a right way or a wrong way to grieve, it just allows for the characters to find their own peaceful path to saying goodbye to Elizabeth and that direction makes for some genuinely beautiful moments in this story.
 
But what I truly appreciated about this film, is that it goes above and beyond in reminding us that life is complicated, and that sometimes our perception of our relationships and the people in our lives, are horrendously incorrect and all of that is explored by way of the revelation that Elizabeth was ready to leave Matt for another man and oddly enough, this twist is what allows for Matt to grow in this story. Because suddenly, he comes to realize that there is more to life than the material things he’s been chasing and it moves him to make some bold decisions when it comes to his family and it allows for him to do the impossible, and forgive his wife for her indiscretions.
 
If anything, Matt’s decision allows for this harrowing story to end in bittersweet fashion. Because while he and his family find peace, they still lose someone that mattered to them and I love that this film took the time to remind us that hanging on to anger and grudges gets us nowhere in life. In the end however, this is simply a magnificent film, one that is endearing and powerful, and one that is led by a stellar cast and if you haven’t seen this one, please do so. But bear in mind that when you settle in for this one, it’s loaded with some heavy material, and don’t be surprised if it stays with you long after it comes to an end since it has something to teach all of us about the wonder of this crazy thing we call life.