What Alfie Is All About

I finally caught up with the remake of Alfie this weekend. While the performances are all good, and the film looks fine, this is an example of a poor screenplay that is undone by bad casting. I'm a big Jude Law fan. He is a remarkably talented actor, but he is cursed with the looks of not just a leading man but of an international male supermodel. When Michael Caine's Alfie ends the film very much alone it is easy to believe that he may stay that way for the rest of his life. When Jude Law's Alfie ends the film alone, one gets the sense that he could get any woman to pay attention to him with little more than a smile and a wink. The film has lots of easy charm. Alfie spends much of the film addressing the audience by looking directly into the camera. This technique, a holdover form the original, shows how appealing a presence Jude Law is. The problem is that he is so winning and charming that I kept thinking about another charming rogue who addressed the camera about the joys of living life. Basically this film is "Ferris Bueller Gets Off". And while that might make for a good film, this movie plays as if it is much more deep and meaningful than it actually is.

And here is a more polished review of The Incredibles.