I shuddered when I first saw the trailer for the new, two-point-noooo! Arthur, directed by Jason Winer.
The preview beckoned a pop-culture apocalypse for me — like those ridiculous parodies you see in futuristic sci-fi flicks — but uncomfortably in the present with loud, over-the-top blockbuster cliches.
Talk about gilding the lily. To my eyes, Hollywood had taken a pristine bud and dressed it up like Lady GaGa.
The remake stars wild-eyed Brit star Russell Brand (Get Him to the Greek, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Greta Gerwig (No Strings Attached) and Helen Mirren (Red, The Queen), and it is — thankfully — not as awful as the "no work, all play" teen-pandering trailer made it appear to be.
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2011.