Review of Arthur Newman (2012) by Donny H — 27 Oct 2012

1.0/4.0.

I cannot think of one reason why Colin Firth and Emily Blunt at this point in their careers would choose to make this movie, which is nothing short of terrible. I just wanted it to end as it played along.

Firth plays Wallace Avery a divorced father who for some reason is sick and tired of his life. To escape his existence, he forges a new life for himself as Arthur Newman and tries to embark on a dream of becoming a golf pro. Along the way, he encounters the troubled Mike (Emily Blunt) and the two with little knowledge of each other embark on a road trip that involves sneaking into other couples' houses and having lots of sex!

Director Dante Ariola in his feature film debut and screenwriter Becky Johnson ("The Prince of Tides") aim to deliver an interesting message on the consequences of trying to escape one's reality but the movie is so silly to the extent it sometimes unintentionally feels like a raunchy road trip comedy. Plus, we have very little knowledge of why these two characters are in the state they are in that one has trouble feeling any kind of sympathy towards them. The acting is alright I suppose but with such thin material it is no saving grace.