Arthur movie review & film summary (1981) | Roger Ebert (2024)

Only someone with a heart of stone could fail to love a drunklike Arthur Bach, who spends his wasted days in a poignant search for someonewho will love him, will care for him, will inflame his passions, and soothe hispain, and who, most of all, will laugh at his one-liners. Arthur is such aservant of humanity that he even dedicates himself to thinking up newone-liners and holding them in reserve, lest he be unprepared if someone walksinto his life and needs a laugh, quick.

Arthur, played by Dudley Moore, is the alcoholic hero of"Arthur," a comedy about a man who is worth $750 million and whowould never think of trying to buy anyone's love with his money. Arthur is likethe woman in the poem by Yeats, who spent her days in innocent good will, andher nights in argument, till her voice grew shrill. Arthur, God love him, is adrunk. He slips into his bath of a morning, and his butler brings him amartini. After he completes his bath, Arthur sets about the day's business,which consists of staying drunk, and being driven about Manhattan in alimousine in his endless quest for love.

Now the problems with searching for love while you are drunk aremany. They include (a) no one will want to love you while you are drunk, (b)you are not at your best while you are drunk, so they won't know what they'remissing, (c) you may be too drunk to notice it if someone does finally fall inlove with you, and (d) if you survive all of these pitfalls, you willnevertheless wake up hung over, and scientific studies prove that hangoversdissolve love. All of these things having been said, Arthur, against all odds,does find love. He finds it in the person of Linda (Liza Minnelli), a smartcookie who doesn't care about his money but is overwhelmed by the dimensions ofhis needs. Arthur would like to marry Linda. But his billionaire father insiststhat he marry a perfectly boring WASP (Jill Eikenberry) whose idea of a goodholiday is probably the January white sales.

Arthur turns for help to his loyal butler, Hobson, who is playedby John Gielgud with an understated elegance and a naughty tongue. Hobson isdying. But Hobson wishes to see Arthur prevail, for once, against Arthur'sfather, a sad*stic puppet-master. So Hobson subtly manipulates the situation sothat the lovers are thrown together at the party announcing Arthur's engagementto the WASP. That inspires a rupture within the family, and a very drunkenodyssey by Arthur, who wants to press $100,000 upon Linda, and visits her athome. When Linda turns him down, her father (Barney Martin) becomes a grown manwho sheds tears, creating perhaps the funniest moment in the movie.

Dudley Moore became a star, of course, with 10, playing a manwho became obsessed with Bo Derek, and who could blame him? In"Arthur," he makes his bid for world-class status as a comiccharacter actor. He brings a wonderful intensity to scenes like the one nearthe beginning of the film where he has invited a hooker to dinner at the Plazaand then forgotten who she is, and what she is, or why he is with her. It ismarvelous to see him try to focus his attention, which he seems to believe isall concentrated in his eyebrow muscles.

Apart from Moore, the treasure of "Arthur" is in itsmany supporting performances, especially Gielgud's, although everyone in thismovie has great moments. You might be tempted to think that "Arthur"would be a bore, because it is about a drunk who is always trying to tell you stories.You would be right if “Arthur” were a party and you were attending it. But"Arthur" is a movie. And so its drunk, unlike real drunks, is moreentertaining, more witty, more human, and more poignant than you are. Heembodies, in fact, all the wonderful human qualities that drunks fondly,mistakenly believe the booze brings out in them.