Arthur (1981)

Movie review by Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media
Arthur (1981) Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 13+

Sweet-spirited '80s comedy with lots of drinking.

PG 1981 97 minutes
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Kids say

age 13+

Based on 8 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What 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.

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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?

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.) It also offers 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.

Talk to Your Kids 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

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