Arthur (1981)
Retro Review #58: A romantic comedy delivering non-stop laughs and loads of love.
Arthur (1981)
+ Feature film, 1h 37m
+ 1️⃣/6 films in Arthur (1981) multiverse 🔜⭐
+ 1️⃣/2 films in Arthur (1981) series ⭐
A+>
Grade: A+> (20.0) / HOF: 90
EQ 👍A+ | 📖A+ 👥A+ 📽️A 🎼A+
DW 😎9.7 | 🌚9 🌝11
POPCAP 💯n/a 🍿n/a 🧢n/a
L-R 💻⬆️1️⃣ 👀⬆️0️⃣ 🛐⬇️2️⃣
When you say that a movie contains non-stop laughs, you’re usually referring to the effect its comedy has on the audience. In the case of the 1981 film Arthur, you could also be referring to the title character, Arthur Bach, who laughs at life, the universe, and everything, including most of all, his own jokes.
Arthur's laughter is contagious and the film has been as high as #10 on lists of the funniest films. Audiences at the time must have been infected with the laughter, as the movie was the fourth-highest grossing film of 1981. It won a Golden Globe for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy. Dudley Moore as Arthur and Sir John Gielgud as his butler, Hobson, won Golden Globes for Best Actor, Musical or Comedy, and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. Moore also received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, while Gielgud got both the Oscar nomination and the win for Best Supporting Actor.
These two actors both delivered hilarious performances in Arthur.
Moore as Arthur Bach is a spoiled wealthy Manhattan playboy, an heir to nearly a billion dollars, who is nearly always drunk. His drunken antics and unfiltered comments provide much of the humor in the film.
Gielgud as the butler, Hobson, provides most of the rest of the comedy. He is Arthur’s best friend and father figure, and also provides a running commentary. But instead of laughing at his own jokes, Hobson is a snob, delivering biting insults and an occasional obscenity with a deadpan delivery and a proper, upper-crust British accent.
Now I normally wouldn’t recommend a film that derives much of its humor from drunkenness and a bad word here and there. But Arthur is so much more than its humor. Its positive messages and feel-good charm balance and even outweigh the borderline content. Arthur is a film about love, romantic and familial, and about a boy becoming a man.
I was just twenty years old when I first saw this movie, and I hadn’t really experienced either type of love all that much. Certainly I was only beginning to learn about being a grown-up. So Arthur touched me to my core.
Liza Minnelli plays Linda Marolla, a waitress from Queens, and Arthur’s love interest in this romantic comedy. Unfortunately, Arthur’s family will disinherit him if he doesn’t follow through on a pre-arranged marriage with a different woman. This conflict provides the opportunity for some good screwball comedy hijinks, but also the moments of drama where Arthur must confront his own immaturity.
These dramatic moments, played to perfection by Moore and Gielgud, are the frosting on their comedic cakes that earned them their deserved awards. Laughs are great, but the ability to portray serious human emotions under difficult circumstances resonate with audiences and earn awards for capable actors.
Writer/director Steve Gordon also received nominations and awards for his screenplay. I’m at a loss as to why his directing was not equally honored, because the consistently good performances of minor characters throughout the film speak to some directorial prowess. Sadly, Arthur was the only feature film he ever directed, passing away from a heart attack in 1982 at the young age of 44.
While Gordon’s screenplay received an Academy Award nomination, but didn’t win the Oscar, Gielgud was not the only winner from Arthur on Oscar night. The Oscar for Best Original Song was claimed by “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”. Performed and co-written by Christopher Cross, it also won the Golden Globe in the same category, and spent three weeks as the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.
Composer/songwriter Burt Bacharach was another co-writer of that hit song, and also was responsible for the excellent original score that helped shape the audience’s emotional response to the film.
Bacharach was the writer of every track on Arthur: The Album, which was one of the first vinyl albums in my short-lived collection after I moved out of my parents’ house in college. The advent of CDs put vinyl records into a long hibernation a few years later, but this soundtrack remains one of my favorite soundtrack albums. The music in the album brings up warm memories for me, and I’m listening to it on Spotify while I write this review!
Can you tell I really love this movie? It’s arguably the funniest romcom ever, and unarguably a joyful celebration of love, both romantic and generational. It was a huge hit in 1981, but seems largely forgotten today. I almost never see or hear it brought up, even when movie-lovers are discussing great older films. Maybe the critical and commercial failures of a 1988 sequel and a 2011 remake have something to do with this. Who knows?
Nevertheless, whether you are a younger movie-lover born after Arthur made its debut, or an older one who simply missed it in the 80s, the laughter and love found in Arthur should put it high on your “Must See” list.
Onwards!
+ last viewed (4) 2025-03-31, HDX7, 1.85v, 1D
+ first viewed 1981, ThX, 1.85, 1
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+ ❌0️⃣ Problematic for teens and sensitive adults. | PGc
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Last updated 2025-04-14
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