Remaking movies seems to be the theme in Hollywood lately, see “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “True Grit,” to name a few. Recently, a remake of the 1981 film, “Arthur,” was released starring Russell Brand as the title character.

There was much anticipation leading up to its release since the original film, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli, received four Academy Awards nominations and two wins.

The original film was a story of a rich, childish, lavish-spending, drunk billionaire roaming around New York with absolutely no responsibilities.

Arthur then must choose between marrying someone he does not love and losing all his money. Ideally, he ends up getting everything he wants.

The new film is written by the Steve Gordon, who wrote and directed the original version. The story is same except for the fact that Arthur’s nanny, portrayed by Helen Mirren, is a woman instead of a man.

There was slight modern twist with things such as a magnetic bed and a Batmobile; but, essentially, it was Brand as a watered down drunken version of himself.

The British duo team of Brand and Mirren were perfect for this story. Ultimately, this well-known cast of Jennifer Gardner, Nick Nolte, Greta Gerwig, and Luiz Guzman sold out for a mediocre semi-comedic film.

Gerwig, who played the girl from Queens that Arthur falls in love with, provided some sweet and subtle comedic relief; however, her acting in general was bland and unimpressive.

Then, there was the huge let down of the well-established actors of Nolte and Gardner.

Gardner, who portrays Arthur’s fiancé, pathetically attempted to play “crazy.” Nolte, with his raspy bad-ass man voice, played the overprotective father. His performance was so average, I do not even know what to say.

The original story was brilliantly funny, and the constant muddled, drunken rambling by Dudley Moore was hilarious.

Yes, this new version of the story is cute and slightly funny, but certainly not Oscar-worthy.

Your time would be better spent watching the original movie at home then spending the money to see the less comedic version of the same story.