10 Remakes That Should Never Have Happened

Drunk people are funny, aren't they? They stagger around, confused, falling over, almost baby-like in their new perspective on the world. If there aren't any drunk people nearby to laugh at, you can go find videos online! Isn't the internet an amazing thing? But you know what isn't funny? Alcoholism.

Arthur tells the story of an alcoholic man-child who is soon to be married off in the hopes that it will make him grow up. In the 1981 version, Arthur, played by Dudley Moore, is funny and loveable, in spite of his horrendous drinking habit - not because of it.

It was clear to see how Arthur had ended up friendless and lonely, and the film doesn't skim over this fact. When his valet Hobson dies, Arthur goes on a massive drinking binge, as his only friend in the world had left him. It's a sad and incredibly touching moment, and something that the remake failed to do justice to.

Russell Brand's incarnation of Arthur attempts to make the playboy's rampant alcoholism the butt of the joke, but it never works because this wasn't how it was intended to be portrayed. The original used Arthur's alcoholism as the backdrop of jokes, constantly contrasting the humour with the darker aspects of addiction.

Another point the remake failed to pick up on was the character of Hobson. Helen Mirren does a passable job (this is Helen Mirren after all), but misses out on the multitude of sarcastic comments criticising Arthur and his lifestyle, which hide Hobson's enduring loyalty to Arthur.