Last year, between the two of us, we watched an average of 317 movies.
This year our goal is to top that by watching at least one a day.
And as an extra special torture, we've decided to write about all of them.

18 July 2008

Arthur, dir. Steve Gordon (1981)

NIKKI says:
We both just wanted something familiar to kick back to. I chose They Live! and was vetoed. I know, right? So, then I thought of Arthur, and it was just so perfect. Ninety minutes we both knew so well, with laughs maybe every five.

There's not all that much left to say about Arthur. It's just a perfect romantic comedy that brings to mind all those phrases along the lines of "they don't write 'em like that anymore". Because they don't. The comedy here is effortless and unforced. Dudley Moore entertains just by being there, and Liza Minnelli is edgy and charismatic without overdoing the sexy/needy/wrong side of the tracks thing. And it's a sweet story about a man learning how to love himself enough to give himself to someone else. He's learning, in basic terms, how not to be alone.

I just learned the writer/director only ever wrote this and The One and Only with Henry Winkler, and a handful of episodes of shows like Barney Miller and Chico and the Man. He died in 1982 at only 44 years old, which kind of makes this movie all the more poignant. Wow, that's really sad. Still, the guy left behind a genuine classic, that's going to be funny and moving forever.

Some of Arthur's best lines:
Arthur: "You're a hooker? Jesus, I forgot! I just thought I was doing GREAT with you!"

Hobson: "Thank you for a memorable afternoon, usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature."

Hobson: "Good afternoon. If you and your undershirt will take two paces backwards, I could enter this dwelling."

Arthur: "Not all of us who drink are poets. Some of us drink because we're not poets."

Arthur: "I often think ... fish must get awful tired of sea food. What are your thoughts, Hobson?"

Hobson: "A little tart like that could save you a fortune in prostitutes."

... and on and on and on.

4.5/5