CS Daily Archive > Weekend Read > Alfie

Down by Law

by matt anderson

A womanizing limo-driver learns the hard way about the dangers of his actions in this film that shows the dangers of a tonally muddled script.

Alfie

Elaine Pope & Charles Shyer (latter also directed)
Based on the film written by Bill Naughton, adapted from his own play

Alfie Elkins (Jude Law) is a womanizer in every sense of the word. While keeping a steady "relationship" with a single mother (Marisa Tomei), he regularly "entertains" himself on the side. However, when he sleeps with his best friend's fiancée (Nia Long), his world collapses. Women see through his game, and Alfie is forced to reevaluate what is important to him. It looks like Alfie is finally growing up when he meets a woman he thinks he can have a serious relationship with (Sienna Miller), but soon his world spins out of control and Alfie has to deal with his new love's mood swings, his own mortality, and possibly falling victim to his own philosophy.

What's it all about? Having never seen the original Alfie (with Michael Caine in the role now portrayed by Jude Law), I felt I was in a prime position to judge the remake on it's own merits, without the baggage of the original weighing me down. Unfortunately, from all the good things I hear about the original, I should have just paid the five bucks to Blockbuster and watched a film I might have enjoyed.

Alfie fails because it's never quite sure what it wants to be. Mainly, it wants to be Jerry Maguire, but is unable to balance the comedic and dramatic elements the way Cameron's Crowe's masterpiece did. The first half of Alfie is all laughs, replaced in the second half by an attempt at serious investigation into the consequences of our protagonist's playboy lifestyle. The shift is to give Alfie an arc, and up the drama, but it doesn't push these elements to their full potential. Each of Alfie's romantic conquests -- the single mother; his best friend's girlfriend; the smarter, sophisticated older woman (Susan Sarandon); the neglected wife (Jane Krakowski); the neurotic, over-emotional younger woman -- offer a different storyline, a different opportunity for Alfie to grow. Any of these could have given the story the rich emotional content it lacks, but each scenario, for whatever reason, is either brushed aside or glossed over.

The main question is, how will Alfie reform himself? Will he change his ways and offer himself to one of the women he's wronged? If so, which will it be? When that decision is made and all the loose ends are (attempted to be) wrapped up, and Alfie is left to ponder what he's been through, we hope -- we want -- him to finally show the change we're looking for. But he doesn't. When the end credits roll, you're left feeling the playboy has learnt nothing at all; he's still the same carefree guy we met at the start. A key opportunity is missed. But it is a film of missed opportunities.

There are some effective moments, both comedic and dramatic, but they are few and far between and don't lift the film enough. Writers Charles Shyer (Father of the Bride) and Elaine Pope (Seinfeld) seemed to want a film that would sit happily with About a Boy, Jerry Maguire, and Roger Dodger. But in an effort to reach that lofty goal of a comedy that makes you feel, they overloaded Alfie with too many elements and never fully fleshed out any of them. It's disappointing, because the bones of a great story are here. But in the end, we're left with a skeleton, not a living, breathing person.

Alfie's tagline asks us "What's it all about?" Sadly, the film's answer is "Not that much."

Alfie
Paramount Pictures
Rated R; 103 min.

Buy tickets now

Buy the poster

Talented but unproven, Matt Anderson is a writer from Australia who frequently drops in on Los Angeles uninvited, forcing the CS staff to deal with his many nonwriting-related escapades.
.

From the Trenches (Monday)
Working screenwriters discuss in their own words a particular aspect of screenwriting, from the mechanics of writing to the personal and professional impact that writing has had on their lives. > VIEW ARCHIVE

The Art of Craft (Tuesday)
Screenwriting experts discuss how to approach various aspects of writing and the writing life. A mini-seminar each week from the people who write the books and teach the classes. > VIEW ARCHIVE

Expert Witness (Wednesday)
A panel of experts assembled to provide the facts about the screenwriting business. Readers will be able have their questions answered by an agent, producer, entertainment attorney, and WGA representative—and without paying that 10% commission. > VIEW ARCHIVE

Son of a Pitch (Thursday)
A weekly tutorial on how to write a script. Each week deals with a different element of creating a script, with the ultimate goal to provide a step-by-step instruction manual for new writers. The guide for this is a writer just diving into screenwriting himself, who asks the pros questions any new screenwriter would have about this brave new world. > VIEW ARCHIVE

Weekend Read (Friday)
Film, book, web site and technology reviews from a writer’s perspective. How can these items help a writer on his or her journey, or make that journey more enjoyable? > VIEW ARCHIVE

DVD Review of the Day (Every Weekday)
DVD reviews from a writer’s point of view. What aspects of this script and features of this DVD illuminate the writing, development, and storytelling process? > VIEW ARCHIVE