list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Arthur on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Arthur/1739/default.aspx Title: Arthur
Year: 1981
Director: Steve Gordon
Plot: The ads for Arthur suggested that this was an obnoxious film about an obnoxious man, an eternally drunken millionaire indulging his every whim. Instead, Arthur (Dudley Moore) is a sweet, somewhat pathetic character whose millions have left him lonely and with no motivation in life. When the film opens, Arthur is on the threshold of an arranged marriage with simpering socialite Jill Eikenberry, whom he does not love. Everyone expects Arthur to behave himself, but nobody truly cares for his well-being, with the exception of father-figure butler John Gielgud (who won an Oscar for his performance) and blue-collar shoplifter Liza Minnelli. Arthur would prefer to marry the lowly Minnelli, but his iron-willed grandmother (Geraldine Fitzgerald) threatens to pull the plug on his huge inheritance if he doesn't honor his position in life and go through with his marriage to Eikenberry. A sequel, Arthur 2: On the Rocks, followed in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 2
Number of Lists: 12
Number of blog posts: 3
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:01:15 GMTArthur1981Steve GordonThe ads for Arthur suggested that this was an obnoxious film about an obnoxious man, an eternally drunken millionaire indulging his every whim. Instead, Arthur (<a href="/players/P___103371/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Dudley Moore</a>) is a sweet, somewhat pathetic character whose millions have left him lonely and with no motivation in life. When the film opens, Arthur is on the threshold of an arranged marriage with simpering socialite <a href="/players/P____21375/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jill Eikenberry</a>, whom he does not love. Everyone expects Arthur to behave himself, but nobody truly cares for his well-being, with the exception of father-figure butler <a href="/players/P____26803/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Gielgud</a> (who won an Oscar for his performance) and blue-collar shoplifter <a href="/players/P____49495/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Liza Minnelli</a>. Arthur would prefer to marry the lowly Minnelli, but his iron-willed grandmother (<a href="/players/P____23694/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Geraldine Fitzgerald</a>) threatens to pull the plug on his huge inheritance if he doesn't honor his position in life and go through with his marriage to Eikenberry. A sequel, Arthur 2: On the Rocks, followed in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide2Slightly Tagged (1-5)12313http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t00201pdygm.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Arthur/1739/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/7/2/32024.aspx Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 7/2/2008 12:01:15 PM
Body: This is it, the day we’ve been waiting for two full decades (or, at least, since we first heard it was happening back in December): the Huey Lewis plot song written specifically for the David Gordon Green-driected, Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy Pineapple Express has hit the web! The Playlist first posted a clip of the song last night; today, Whitney at Pop Candy points to the full thing, available for streaming or download on MySpace. It’s very much in classic Huey Lewis plot song mode, complete with gratuitous hand claps and sax solo. It’s not as directly narrative as, say, “Back in Time” (above), but it’s slightly more literally connected to the film than, like, “The Power of Love.” A sample from the chorus: “How did we get into this mess? Pineapple Express! Can’t deal with this stress! Totally gone, cause we’re on, Pineapple Express!” It is the best, and it is also totally the worst. As we’ve discussed before, plot songs take the science of the source cue to a new level. After the jump, a brief, video-guided journey through plot song history. Let us know what we’ve left out. 1955: “(Love is) The Tender Trap” from The Tender Trap Though this Frank Sinatra/Debbie Reynolds sex comedy was based on a play, the song sung twice by Sinatra in the film (once over the opening credits, once directly to Reynolds, as seen above) was written specifically for the movie, and was nominated for an Oscar. Like the best plot songs, it does more than just set a tone or reiterate the film’s plot––it actually becomes integral to it. 1967: “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate According to Mark Harris’ Pictures at a Revolution, Paul Simon was under contract to write three original songs for Mike Nichols’ movie. He turned in two, and Nichols liked neither. “Have you got anything else?” the director asked. Simon and Art Garfunkel apparently “muttered to each other” for a few minutes, and then played a song-in-progress, which was then called “Mrs. Roosevelt,” “about icons of a certain generation.” Nichols loved it, “Roosevelt” was changed to “Robinson,” but the song remained unfinished by the time a mostly instrumental version of it was cut into the movei (see above). When it was released as a single a year later, lines alluding to characters and themes from the film were mashed together with lyrics from the “Roosevelt” draft. 1981: “Arthur’s Theme” from Arthur I desperately wanted to honor this era with a song from another Dudley Moore film, “Ready to Take a Chance Again” as sung by Barry Manilow in Foul Play, but this Christopher Cross classic is really the finer specimen of plot song. I think most people my age know this song, but haven’t even seen Arthur; I watched it for the first time a few years ago and was blown away (okay, maybe not blown away, but definitely surprised) by how dark it is. It’s about this total fuck-up rich kid, this terrible, terrible alcoholic who leaves nothing but destruction in his path…until he falls in love with Liza Minnelli. But the song totally give him a pass, reframing Arthur as this loveable loon, “just a boy…laughing about the way they want him to be.” Um…he’s laughing because he’s been drunk since 1967. 1985: “Weird Science” from Weird Science The rare example of a plot song making the film that spawned it superfluous. Infused with an introspection that the the John Hughes movie simply had no interest in (”From my heart and from my head, why don’t people understand my intentions?”), there’s absolutely no reason to see the entire film if you can watch the Oingo Boingo music video above. Um, okay…the movie has a young Robert Downey Jr, I guess. But the song encapsulates the narrative such as it is and the video incorporates all the relevant clips from the film––plus it’s got original Dr. Frankenstein Colin Clive, AND Danny Elfman imitating Colin Clive. We’re done here. 1989: “On Our Own” from Ghostbusters 2 I understand that the selection of Bobby Brown over Ray Parker Jr might seem controversial to some. But look at the evidence: “Found out about Vigo/The Master of Evil/Try to battle my boys?/That’s not legal!” I’m absolutely positive that this is the finest plot song verse ever written. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth
]]>Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:01:15 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog7/2/2008 12:01:15 PM This is it, the day we’ve been waiting for two full decades (or, at least, since we first heard it was happening back in December): the Huey Lewis plot song written specifically for the David Gordon Green-driected, Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy Pineapple Express has hit the web! The Playlist first posted a clip of the song last night; today, Whitney at Pop Candy points to the full thing, available for streaming or download on MySpace. It’s very much in classic Huey Lewis plot song mode, complete with gratuitous hand claps and sax solo. It’s not as directly narrative as, say, “Back in Time” (above), but it’s slightly more literally connected to the film than, like, “The Power of Love.” A sample from the chorus: “How did we get into this mess? Pineapple Express! Can’t deal with this stress! Totally gone, cause we’re on, Pineapple Express!” It is the best, and it is also totally the worst. As we’ve discussed before, plot songs take the science of the source cue to a new level. After the jump, a brief, video-guided journey through plot song history. Let us know what we’ve left out. 1955: “(Love is) The Tender Trap” from The Tender Trap Though this Frank Sinatra/Debbie Reynolds sex comedy was based on a play, the song sung twice by Sinatra in the film (once over the opening credits, once directly to Reynolds, as seen above) was written specifically for the movie, and was nominated for an Oscar. Like the best plot songs, it does more than just set a tone or reiterate the film’s plot––it actually becomes integral to it. 1967: “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate According to Mark Harris’ Pictures at a Revolution, Paul Simon was under contract to write three original songs for Mike Nichols’ movie. He turned in two, and Nichols liked neither. “Have you got anything else?” the director asked. Simon and Art Garfunkel apparently “muttered to each other” for a few minutes, and then played a song-in-progress, which was then called “Mrs. Roosevelt,” “about icons of a certain generation.” Nichols loved it, “Roosevelt” was changed to “Robinson,” but the song remained unfinished by the time a mostly instrumental version of it was cut into the movei (see above). When it was released as a single a year later, lines alluding to characters and themes from the film were mashed together with lyrics from the “Roosevelt” draft. 1981: “Arthur’s Theme” from Arthur I desperately wanted to honor this era with a song from another Dudley Moore film, “Ready to Take a Chance Again” as sung by Barry Manilow in Foul Play, but this Christopher Cross classic is really the finer specimen of plot song. I think most people my age know this song, but haven’t even seen Arthur; I watched it for the first time a few years ago and was blown away (okay, maybe not blown away, but definitely surprised) by how dark it is. It’s about this total fuck-up rich kid, this terrible, terrible alcoholic who leaves nothing but destruction in his path…until he falls in love with Liza Minnelli. But the song totally give him a pass, reframing Arthur as this loveable loon, “just a boy…laughing about the way they want him to be.” Um…he’s laughing because he’s been drunk since 1967. 1985: “Weird Science” from Weird Science The rare example of a plot song making the film that spawned it superfluous. Infused with an introspection that the the John Hughes movie simply had no interest in (”From my heart and from my head, why don’t people understand my intentions?”), there’s absolutely no reason to see the entire film if you can watch the Oingo Boingo music video above. Um, okay…the movie has a young Robert Downey Jr, I guess. But the song encapsulates the narrative such as it is and the video incorporates all the relevant clips from the film––plus it’s got original Dr. Frankenstein Colin Clive, AND Danny Elfman imitating Colin Clive. We’re done here. 1989: “On Our Own” from Ghostbusters 2 I understand that the selection of Bobby Brown over Ray Parker Jr might seem controversial to some. But look at the evidence: “Found out about Vigo/The Master of Evil/Try to battle my boys?/That’s not legal!” I’m absolutely positive that this is the finest plot song verse ever written. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/7/2/32023.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/2/2008 12:01:06 PM
Body: This is it, the day we’ve been waiting for two full decades (or, at least, since we first heard it was happening back in December): the Huey Lewis plot song written specifically for the David Gordon Green-driected, Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy Pineapple Express has hit the web! The Playlist first posted a clip of the song last night; today, Whitney at Pop Candy points to the full thing, available for streaming or download on MySpace. It’s very much in classic Huey Lewis plot song mode, complete with gratuitous hand claps and sax solo. It’s not as directly narrative as, say, “Back in Time” (above), but it’s slightly more literally connected to the film than, like, “The Power of Love.” A sample from the chorus: “How did we get into this mess? Pineapple Express! Can’t deal with this stress! Totally gone, cause we’re on, Pineapple Express!” It is the best, and it is also totally the worst. As we’ve discussed before, plot songs take the science of the source cue to a new level. After the jump, a brief, video-guided journey through plot song history. Let us know what we’ve left out. 1955: “(Love is) The Tender Trap” from The Tender Trap Though this Frank Sinatra/Debbie Reynolds sex comedy was based on a play, the song sung twice by Sinatra in the film (once over the opening credits, once directly to Reynolds, as seen above) was written specifically for the movie, and was nominated for an Oscar. Like the best plot songs, it does more than just set a tone or reiterate the film’s plot––it actually becomes integral to it. 1967: “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate According to Mark Harris’ Pictures at a Revolution, Paul Simon was under contract to write three original songs for Mike Nichols’ movie. He turned in two, and Nichols liked neither. “Have you got anything else?” the director asked. Simon and Art Garfunkel apparently “muttered to each other” for a few minutes, and then played a song-in-progress, which was then called “Mrs. Roosevelt,” “about icons of a certain generation.” Nichols loved it, “Roosevelt” was changed to “Robinson,” but the song remained unfinished by the time a mostly instrumental version of it was cut into the movei (see above). When it was released as a single a year later, lines alluding to characters and themes from the film were mashed together with lyrics from the “Roosevelt” draft. 1981: “Arthur’s Theme” from Arthur I desperately wanted to honor this era with a song from another Dudley Moore film, “Ready to Take a Chance Again” as sung by Barry Manilow in Foul Play, but this Christopher Cross classic is really the finer specimen of plot song. I think most people my age know this song, but haven’t even seen Arthur; I watched it for the first time a few years ago and was blown away (okay, maybe not blown away, but definitely surprised) by how dark it is. It’s about this total fuck-up rich kid, this terrible, terrible alcoholic who leaves nothing but destruction in his path…until he falls in love with Liza Minnelli. But the song totally give him a pass, reframing Arthur as this loveable loon, “just a boy…laughing about the way they want him to be.” Um…he’s laughing because he’s been drunk since 1967. 1985: “Weird Science” from Weird Science The rare example of a plot song making the film that spawned it superfluous. Infused with an introspection that the the John Hughes movie simply had no interest in (”From my heart and from my head, why don’t people understand my intentions?”), there’s absolutely no reason to see the entire film if you can watch the Oingo Boingo music video above. Um, okay…the movie has a young Robert Downey Jr, I guess. But the song encapsulates the narrative such as it is and the video incorporates all the relevant clips from the film––plus it’s got original Dr. Frankenstein Colin Clive, AND Danny Elfman imitating Colin Clive. We’re done here. 1989: “On Our Own” from Ghostbusters 2 I understand that the selection of Bobby Brown over Ray Parker Jr might seem controversial to some. But look at the evidence: “Found out about Vigo/The Master of Evil/Try to battle my boys?/That’s not legal!” I’m absolutely positive that this is the finest plot song verse ever written. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:01:06 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com7/2/2008 12:01:06 PM This is it, the day we’ve been waiting for two full decades (or, at least, since we first heard it was happening back in December): the Huey Lewis plot song written specifically for the David Gordon Green-driected, Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy Pineapple Express has hit the web! The Playlist first posted a clip of the song last night; today, Whitney at Pop Candy points to the full thing, available for streaming or download on MySpace. It’s very much in classic Huey Lewis plot song mode, complete with gratuitous hand claps and sax solo. It’s not as directly narrative as, say, “Back in Time” (above), but it’s slightly more literally connected to the film than, like, “The Power of Love.” A sample from the chorus: “How did we get into this mess? Pineapple Express! Can’t deal with this stress! Totally gone, cause we’re on, Pineapple Express!” It is the best, and it is also totally the worst. As we’ve discussed before, plot songs take the science of the source cue to a new level. After the jump, a brief, video-guided journey through plot song history. Let us know what we’ve left out. 1955: “(Love is) The Tender Trap” from The Tender Trap Though this Frank Sinatra/Debbie Reynolds sex comedy was based on a play, the song sung twice by Sinatra in the film (once over the opening credits, once directly to Reynolds, as seen above) was written specifically for the movie, and was nominated for an Oscar. Like the best plot songs, it does more than just set a tone or reiterate the film’s plot––it actually becomes integral to it. 1967: “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate According to Mark Harris’ Pictures at a Revolution, Paul Simon was under contract to write three original songs for Mike Nichols’ movie. He turned in two, and Nichols liked neither. “Have you got anything else?” the director asked. Simon and Art Garfunkel apparently “muttered to each other” for a few minutes, and then played a song-in-progress, which was then called “Mrs. Roosevelt,” “about icons of a certain generation.” Nichols loved it, “Roosevelt” was changed to “Robinson,” but the song remained unfinished by the time a mostly instrumental version of it was cut into the movei (see above). When it was released as a single a year later, lines alluding to characters and themes from the film were mashed together with lyrics from the “Roosevelt” draft. 1981: “Arthur’s Theme” from Arthur I desperately wanted to honor this era with a song from another Dudley Moore film, “Ready to Take a Chance Again” as sung by Barry Manilow in Foul Play, but this Christopher Cross classic is really the finer specimen of plot song. I think most people my age know this song, but haven’t even seen Arthur; I watched it for the first time a few years ago and was blown away (okay, maybe not blown away, but definitely surprised) by how dark it is. It’s about this total fuck-up rich kid, this terrible, terrible alcoholic who leaves nothing but destruction in his path…until he falls in love with Liza Minnelli. But the song totally give him a pass, reframing Arthur as this loveable loon, “just a boy…laughing about the way they want him to be.” Um…he’s laughing because he’s been drunk since 1967. 1985: “Weird Science” from Weird Science The rare example of a plot song making the film that spawned it superfluous. Infused with an introspection that the the John Hughes movie simply had no interest in (”From my heart and from my head, why don’t people understand my intentions?”), there’s absolutely no reason to see the entire film if you can watch the Oingo Boingo music video above. Um, okay…the movie has a young Robert Downey Jr, I guess. But the song encapsulates the narrative such as it is and the video incorporates all the relevant clips from the film––plus it’s got original Dr. Frankenstein Colin Clive, AND Danny Elfman imitating Colin Clive. We’re done here. 1989: “On Our Own” from Ghostbusters 2 I understand that the selection of Bobby Brown over Ray Parker Jr might seem controversial to some. But look at the evidence: “Found out about Vigo/The Master of Evil/Try to battle my boys?/That’s not legal!” I’m absolutely positive that this is the finest plot song verse ever written. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Grew_up_in_the_80_s/Re_What_is_your_Favorite_Comedy_of_the_1980_s/38/10570/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: lukasblu
Post To: Grew up in the 80's
Post Date: 6/9/2007 9:56:12 PM
Body: Yeah i do remember watching nat.lampoons vacation and that was the funniest thing i have seen at that time;Can't believe the've made so many spin-offs the original national lampoons vacation,;BUT nothing will ever be as good,original and funny as the true and tried original vacation.another movie back in 1986 that i found very funny i almost fell off my seat dying of laughter is jumping jack flash with whoopi goldberg;it was not such famous movie or probably might not even have been a wild success BUT something about that movie made me really laugh.i gues u could call it a personal fave back then.Victor/victoria,i remember likng that movie but not being the funniest;that movie made me like julie andrews(also sound of music but that was in the 60s and not a comedy BUT a classic) .Talking about victor /victoria,do you remember a movie called tootsie??i loved that movie and the theme song of that movie!!Tootsie still gets to me til today;Speaking of role reversal movies, i also loved that musical yentl/although this is not a comedy( i was and still a b.streisand fan)yeah and about the monty python the meaning of life and history of the world part 1;that is a very funny and original spoof movie;i remember the scene when the guy sticks a gun behind moses,moses lifts up both his hands in the air and the red sea parts
]]>Sun, 10 Jun 2007 01:56:12 GMTlukasbluGrew up in the 80's6/9/2007 9:56:12 PMYeah i do remember watching nat.lampoons vacation and that was the funniest thing i have seen at that time;Can&#39;t believe the&#39;ve made so many spin-offs the original national lampoons vacation,;BUT nothing will ever be as good,original and funny as the true and tried original vacation.another movie back in 1986 that i found very funny i almost fell off my seat dying of laughter is jumping jack flash with whoopi goldberg;it was not such famous movie or probably might not even have been a wild success BUT something about that movie made me really laugh.i gues u could call it a personal fave back then.Victor/victoria,i remember likng that movie but not being the funniest;that movie made me like julie andrews(also sound of music but that was in the 60s and not a comedy BUT a classic) .Talking about victor /victoria,do you remember a movie called tootsie??i loved that movie and the theme song of that movie!!Tootsie still gets to me til today;Speaking of role reversal movies, i also loved that musical yentl/although this is not a comedy( i was and still a b.streisand fan)yeah and about the monty python the meaning of life and history of the world part 1;that is a very funny and original spoof movie;i remember the scene when the guy sticks a gun behind moses,moses lifts up both his hands in the air and the red sea parts http://www.spout.com/blogs/badthing/archive/2007/5/16/8915.aspx Post By: badthing
Post To: badthing Blog
Post Date: 5/16/2007 8:43:49 PM
Body: I adored this movie! The actors were perfectly casted and the storyline had a bit of every human emotion.
]]>Thu, 17 May 2007 00:43:49 GMTbadthingbadthing Blog5/16/2007 8:43:49 PMI adored this movie! The actors were perfectly casted and the storyline had a bit of every human emotion. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/romance/MemberTagFilms.aspxromance
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]]>Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:53:54 GMT1901114Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/inheritance/MemberTagFilms.aspxinheritance
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]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:07:18 GMT13311116Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/millionaire/MemberTagFilms.aspxmillionaire
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]]>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:11:19 GMT1431012Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Best-Supporting-Actor/MemberTagFilms.aspxBest-Supporting-Actor
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]]>Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:21:24 GMT71477Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/lovechoices/MemberTagFilms.aspxlovechoices
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]]>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:01:19 GMT14833Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Best-Song/MemberTagFilms.aspxBest-Song
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]]>Tue, 01 Aug 2006 03:19:12 GMT526Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/shoplifting/MemberTagFilms.aspxshoplifting
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