On The Arthur Remake: Hobson

I've just read that Warner Bros. is planning a remake of one of my favorite movies Arthur. For those who don't know Arthur is the story of a drunken millionaire playboy named Arthur Bach (Dudley Moore). His family wants him to marry a girl to solidify a business partnership. Even though Arthur doesn't love her 3/4 of a billion dollars is too much to give up so he goes along with it. Of course once Arthur finally accepts his fate he meets a city girl named Linda (Liza Manelli) who captures his heart. The story goes from there.

As amazing as Dudley Moore is as the character of Arthur, my favorite character is Arthur's butler Hobson (John Gleglund). This is where my real beef with the remake comes in. Before I go on, I know there is nothing I can do about the remake and my best course would be to just not watch the movie. I can enjoy the original for what it is and forget that the remake ever happened. That being said the internet gives every untalented hack with access to a computer the ability to rant and rave about whatever they want. Here's where I come in MWAHAHA!

Back to the point, the studio has replaced Hobson with Helen Mirran. Not to knock Mirran but she is a woman and Hobson was a man. Now on the surface this doesn't appear to be a big deal. Studios do this kind of thing all the time switching a physical aspect of a character. From white to black, male to female, son on and so forth. The examples I can think of now involve comic franchises. The Justice League cartoon swapped Hawk Man for Hawk Woman, the Daredevil movie had Michael Clark Duncan as the Kingpin (who is usually a white man). The majority of the time this has little to no impact on the core of the character, so while its something to nitpick it isn't a huge deal. The new Hobson is a prime example of when this kind of change really does ruin a character.

Hobson is not only a butler to Arthur but also a father figure. Now again this doesn't seem like a big deal, just switch it to a mother figure. Easy right, think again. Throughout the movie Arthur has interactions with both his biological father and Hobson allowing the viewer to see the differing ways they treat him and Arthur treats them. Arthur's father is a business man through and through. Over the course of the movie it seems like Mr. Bach doesn't give a flying crap about Arthur outside of how his marriage will effect the business.

The only real dialogue between Arthur and his father in the movie is at Mr. Bach's office. Considering that this is Arthur's father one would think they would meet somewhere outside of his office to talk. Maybe at Arthur's place, or his mansion, maybe even some restaurant for lunch. This is the only major meeting between characters in the movie that takes place in an office. Even the meeting between Arthur and his soon to be father-in-law (Burt) takes place in Burt's trophy room. The fact that every other major character has interactions with Arthur in a more personal environment than his father shows the distance between the two characters.

Also take note that I haven't referred to Mr. Bach by a first name throughout this article. That's because he doesn't get referred to by his first name during the film. I had to go to IMDB to find out his name is Stanford, so maybe it's better that they didn't use his name in the movie. The point is if the characters didn't even bother to refer to him by his first name, only shows how empty the characters relationship is.

Hobson, on the other hand, is everything a father should be to Arthur. He's loving but stern. He takes care of Arthur giving him advice and guiding him through life. If Mr. Bach is Arthur's biological father than Hobson is his "real father." At a point in the movie Arthur even admits to this himself (I won't spoil the movie so I'll be vague). Hobson is the reason why Arthur finally grows up, if that's not the impact of a father I don't know what is.

The point is Hobson serves as Arthur's father in the movie. One could argue that the new Hobson could be a motherly figure and still fill have the same effect. But Arthur already has something of a mother figure, his grandmother Martha (see she even gets a first name). Once Arthur meets Linda he appeals to Martha, not his father on the arranged marriage. In her home no less! Arthur is far closer to his grandmother than he is with his father, and since his biological mother is nowhere to be found, one can make the case that she is the matronly figure in his life. Again it's hard to explain while remaining spoiler free so watch the movie and you'll know what I'm talking about.

So if the new Hobson is to be his mother figure this completely invalidates two characters, Hobson takes the place of Martha who is now useless, and the contrast between Hobson and Mr. Bach is gone. I truly believe that the sex change removes a critical element from the movie; it's not just lineage that makes a family, its love. I guess we'll have to see how the movie turns out, but expectations are low at this point. If you haven't seen the original yet do yourself a favor and check it out.