Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Arthur’ (1981)

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​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. 

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