# A remake of ARTHUR: why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651 "2010-07-22T22:45:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/41 "2010-07-23T18:56:05Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Given that Russel Brand, who’s as ugly as sin, has gotten both a big budget starring role AND Katy Perry, one can only assume he’s got a fucking genie friend or something. This needs to be repeated over and over again. Russel Brand is basically a hyperactive monkey who somehow conned the world into giving him a thriving acting career and somehow landed one of the hottest women in the world. Who does he have pictures of and what kinds of depravity do they show? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/42 "2010-07-23T19:15:37Z")
I thought Russell Brand was hilarious in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” but when I watched some of his stand up, not so much. I know of his bad boy reputation but haven’t seen him in anything else. However, I never had any interest in seeing the first Arthur so probably would watch this if it came on cable but I’d be watching it alone, as the boyfriend agrees with all of you on the hate front. To the poster who’s trying to put her finger on exactly why he pegs her disgust-o-meter, may I suggest that it’s because he looks hygenically challenged? Also, he has a really oddly shaped body. That doesn’t stop \*me \* from lusting after him, but I understand. ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/43 "2010-07-23T20:07:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > In a theoretical sense. This will be his first actual script for a movie. That’s true, but he has been behind the scenes on both Bruno and Borat; has written for many Chris Morris projects inc The Day Today, Blue Jam as well as Alan Partridge and Big Train - kind of adds up to ‘can write funny’ - but a movie remake of an 80’s Dudley Moore vehicle specifically for Russell Brand? Well I don’t know. Which is why I didn’t say -‘it’s going to be bigger than Titanivatar!’ MiM ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/44 "2010-07-23T20:14:51Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > At last, someone specific that didn’t like “Star Drek” either! Where have _you_ been? When the movie came out, there was much discussion, analysis and a great deal of scorn (to which I was happy to contribute). I didn’t really like Arthur, truth be told. When his would-be father-in-law was whaling on him, I kinda cheered a little. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/45 "2010-07-23T20:40:36Z")
Any chance Dame Helen will get naked in it? That might help it not suck so much. In fact, they should just fire Brand and let Helen play all the roles … naked. Yes, I am a hetero female but I can still see that Dame Helen is hawt! ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/46 "2010-07-23T23:54:06Z")
Usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/47 "2010-07-24T00:06:29Z")
Hobson lines still used in my family: “I’ll alert the media” and “It’s what I live for”. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/48 "2011-02-13T21:22:07Z")
**BUMP** [Trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHi7NDi_OAY) Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/49 "2011-02-13T21:41:49Z")
I didn’t think the first one was worth watching either. I categorize those as “drunk comedies,” where the humor comes from watching a drunk person mess up, and real drunks are nowhere near as funny as movie drunks, which pushes me out of the story. it’s like watching a pratfall: obviously fake, not funny at all. But, regarding a remake, it’s pretty clear that Hollywood is scraping the bottom of the barrel. They’re making too many movies each year, and more and more are recycled garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/50 "2011-02-13T21:52:55Z")
Holy cow - that actually looked good! It might be a movie I would actually enjoy, and might even pay matinee prices for. I would never have anticipated writing that about an Arthur re-make. **Mama Zappa** and I enjoyed the original (despite the “drunk comedy” aspects mentioned by **Superhal** ) , and we might like this one as well. This is why Hollywood keeps re-making movie. Every once in a while they do a good remake. This might be a good one - the trailer definitely didn’t suck. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/51 "2011-02-13T22:10:37Z")
You know what? I think Russell Brand is a very good actor. He was decent in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (much better than what’s his name who starred) and his voice work in Despicable Me was superb. He can handle sketch comedy deftly, as in last night’s SNL. He’s a classically trained Shakespearian actor to boot. Do we need a remake of Arthur? Of course not. We didn’t need a remake of Cactus Flower either and yet that’s out right now. We don’t need any remakes, except possibly of classic literature. But Russell Brand would be a far better choice for Arthur than Ricky Gervais. I don’t see Brand as dangerous, but his persona is of an alcohol- and drug-abuser who transformed into a clown, and that works better for this movie. I’m sure he cleans up well, too. Of course, my movie opinions are always in the minority here. Still, I’m surprised by the hate. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/52 "2011-02-14T00:01:04Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [[Trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHi7NDi_OAY) […] Thoughts? So he doesn’t drink… he’s just cognitively disabled and infantile? That’s supposed to make him _more_ relatable, is it? On the other hand, Helen Mirren is sexier than John Gielgud ever was. That’s a plus. Despite that, I’m going to have to contradict **Typo Knig** and opine that the trailer sucked hard enough to bring blood to the surface. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/53 "2011-02-14T00:17:14Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You know what? I think Russell Brand is a very good actor. He was decent in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (much better than what’s his name who starred) and his voice work in Despicable Me was superb. He can handle sketch comedy deftly, as in last night’s SNL. He’s a classically trained Shakespearian actor to boot. > > Do we need a remake of Arthur? Of course not. We didn’t need a remake of Cactus Flower either and yet that’s out right now. We don’t need any remakes, except possibly of classic literature. > > But Russell Brand would be a far better choice for Arthur than Ricky Gervais. I don’t see Brand as dangerous, but his persona is of an alcohol- and drug-abuser who transformed into a clown, and that works better for this movie. I’m sure he cleans up well, too. > > Of course, my movie opinions are always in the minority here. Still, I’m surprised by the hate. Exactly on board with you here, **Exapno**. People said Brand has a “bad boy reputation”?! That his public persona is that of a person who’d be slipping roofies to people? To that I say, wtf. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/54 "2011-02-14T00:39:02Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > But Russell Brand would be a far better choice for Arthur than Ricky Gervais. I can effortlessly name a hundred actors who’re better suited for playing Arthur than Ricky Gervais. Gervais made a couple of good TV series there but I’m sick of his face and his two-note act. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/55 "2011-02-14T00:49:30Z")
Oh God, it looks horrible. I’m one of the few people who kind of like Russell Brand, and I love Helen Mirren. I hate to see her (and don’t intend to), in this crapfest. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/56 "2011-02-14T01:06:15Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > While it’s never really explained how Dudley Moore- scion of an enormously rich NYC family- has a working class English accent, you don’t really care, especially when his butler Hobson (John Gielgud) supplied all the arrogance anybody could possibly need in a performance that earned him a deserved Academy Award. I always thought that ALL upper-upper-crust NYC families and their butlers had either working class English accents or New England Kennedy accents. What’s the problem? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/57 "2011-02-14T01:25:50Z")
I thought the trailer was quite good. It made me laugh, and you can’t ask for more than that. Considering most comedy movies that have been coming out lately haven’t appealed to me at all and yet have been very popular, and now many people are dismissing this trailer as unfunny, I think my sense of humour does not align with modern audiences. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651/58 "2011-02-14T01:45:16Z")
I’ve generally liked Brand’s work, and if there’s an actor alive (that I know of) that’s suited to that role, it’s Brand. I questioned the choice of Guzman, but I think he’ll work well, and Mirren was an inspired choice for the John Gielgud role. I look forward to seeing it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-remake-of-arthur-why/547651.md?page=2)