What parents need to know
Positive role models
Violence
Sex
Language
Consumerism
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this popular '80s comedy turns time and again to comical drinking and drunkenness. Though some of it is played for pathos and sadness, the slurred-speech joviality and teetering gait is usually upbeat and funny. The title character, a multi-millionaire playboy, picks up prostitutes and is shown the next morning in bed with one (who speaks about incest in her history). There is some light swearing that doesn't go beyond the "s" word.
User reviews
Parents say
Kids say
What's the story?
During a Christmas season in New York City, Arthur Bach (Dudley Moore), a lifelong wastrel with a $750 million family fortune, spends his time, as always, having fun -- clowning, partying, driving his private race car, and, most of all, drinking to excess. Despite Arthur's womanizing (with a few prostitutes in the opener), his father decides to marry Arthur off to a girl from another super-rich family for stability and decorum. But while Arthur is gallivanting around his best friend, disapproving butler and father-figure Hobson (Sir John Gielgud), he meets and hits it off with a free-spirited would-be actress, Linda (Liza Minnelli), who works as a waitress. Will money- and alcohol-addicted Arthur call off the wedding so he can be with impoverished Linda?
Is it any good?
QUALITY
ARTHUR was a crowd-pleasing "sleeper" in its day, with a witty screwball-comedy mien that hearkened back to golden-age screen comedies of yesteryear (though swearing and very light sex is something past censors wouldn't have permitted) and the Hollywood-wish-fullfillment of a poor little rich girl/guy who just needs someone to love him for who he is, not his millions. Kid viewers can especially relate to Arthur's giddy immaturity, his toys, and his slightly wistful need to make everyone laugh (so they'll like him).
It's the boozing part that's iffy material. Dudley Moore's character isn't sloshed continually -- it just feels that way. Think Popeye with his spinach, when Arthur grabs a bottle to get giggly and uninhibited enough to confront stuffy relatives and peers. Moreover, Arthur's one of the most "enabled" alcoholics ever, with an entourage and two attractive, non-gold-digging females vying to pamper him. In a way this flick is a shallow male fantasy, but, just like Hobson the sarcastic butler, viewers learn to love Arthur anyway for his innate decency and harmlessness. If only all drinkers were like that.
Families can talk about...
Families can talk about the choices Arthur makes. Do you really think he's going to sober up and be a better person in the end? A more sentimental (and less successful) sequel, Arthur 2: On the Rocks, attempted sincerely to address that question.
Ask kids what they think their lives would be like if they were raised like Arthur, in a mega-rich environment without responsibilities. What messages does this film send about immense wealth?
Does this film go too far in making drunkenness look positive and consequence-free?
Movie details
| Theatrical release date: | August 7, 1981 |
| DVD release date: | July 30, 1997 |
| Cast: | Dudley Moore, John Gielgud, Liza Minnelli |
| Director: | Steven Spielberg |
| Studio: | Warner Home Video |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 97 minutes |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
Great handpicked alternatives
For kids who love comedies
Browse more movies
Top advice and articles
What parents and kids say
Share your thoughts with other parents and kids Write a user review
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines
QUALITY
Funny, funny, funny 80's flick!
"Arthur" is never pee-your-pants hysterical (at least to me) but it had several very funny one-liners, (mostly by the quiet but extremely sarcastic and comical butler Hobson, played to Oscar-winning perfection by John Gielgud.) Moore & Minnelli are both great in their roles. It's a charming little film that never borders into dramedy territory, it's always light-hearted!
What other families should know
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Was this review useful?
QUALITY
Arthur
Alcohol, sex, money, and love: large points in this classic movie "Arthur".
What other families should know
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Great role models
Was this review useful?
QUALITY
iffy not good
Violence iffy
language mild body part related
Personal Assult Moderate
Consumerism Iffy
Drinking intense
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Was this review useful?
Poll
What are the different ways that you access Common Sense Media ratings and information? (Check all that apply)
What are the different ways that you access Common Sense Media ratings and information? (Check all that apply)
Total votes: 760