This movie is a prime example of...
no good deed goes unpunished. Had he not driven the accordion guy around and given him some money he may not have been in that tunnel at that time, thus getting him in trouble for the murder.
shareTrue, but from this guy they're not exactly good deeds. He only gave the accordion man a ride because he wanted to show off his car and feel superior to someone else (after his humiliation in the bank). And it was his insensitive treatment of the accordion man (talking to him about girls and then calling him a "pansy") that may have driven the guy to rape and murder. Arthur is so fixated on his dreams that he doesn't really "see" other people. It's his blindness more than the morality of his deeds that dooms him, imo.
shareHmmmm, a reply exactly 365 days later! At this point I have seen another 400 or so movies, so my memory of this movie is a bit faded by now. I do not remember his action being based on wanting to feel superior, but it's not like his character was very appealing in the first place. Then again, was any character in this movie appealing? I had remembered disliking this movie when I first saw it, and gave it another chance last year only to find I still disliked it.
shareA year! I hadn't noticed that. Sometimes I get replies to comments I left so long ago (7-8 years) that I have no memory of having written them.
Well, in the film Steve Martin sees the accordion man thumbing for a ride (in fact, jumping up and down on the shoulder) and he zooms right past him, with an ef-you smile and a sarcastic wave. (Which seems to fit his cold-hearted, narcissistic personality pretty well). Then he brakes and backs up, and the viewer thinks, well, maybe he's not so bad after all...but turns out he only stopped because he thought the poor guy yelled something at him. The hobo starts stuttering ("I didn't yell nothin', sir!") and Martin, after enjoying his groveling for a bit, corrects his grammar and grandly offers him a ride. When the hobo compliments his car, Martin says, "Not bad, eh?" with this creepy smug look that reminds you of how miscast Martin is in this film. I mean, his dancing is brilliant (and so are the musical set pieces) but any movie whose hero you want to punch out in almost every scene, has got problems. I mean, the character as written is unlikable, but somehow Bob Hoskins overcame that in the original BBC version: he just seemed so genuine, such a lovable Everyman, that you couldn't help liking him. Martin, though, can't shake that smarmy SNL insincerity that he always uses, like it's part of his face. He never really seems to be "in" his scenes: it's like he's always looking down at everyone around him, like they're something stuck to his shoe. I generally like Martin as a comedian, but I wish they'd cast Bob Hoskins in this film; it might have been great (like the miniseries was).
I have answered many a question 5-10 years old, that no one even noticed, most likely. But I figure it's there for future generations, IF imdb doesn't delete everything one day! I already lost my most popular post as imdb must have deemed it obscene or something.
I too love Steve Martin, and I was young and more of a fan of The Jerk when I saw Pennies From Heaven, so I am sure I was not expecting this disaster of a movie by any means. Older now, I was hoping I would have a different opinion of it, I remembered very little other than the nipple scene, and the breaking of the records, which made me hate him all the more! Seeing it a second time did not change my mind, though I was able to respect and enjoy certain aspects of it, the dancing, the staging, the cinematography, but a movie needs characters you are invested in, love or hate, and although there was a lot of hate for the characters here, there was still no investment for some reason.
I have downloaded the original version of this, and will one day watch it, though not any time soon. I do remember seeing The Singing Detective years ago as well and not particularly liking it, or maybe it just confused the hell of out me, I don't remember. Sometimes I watched some difficult stuff when I was a kid, which wasn't a bad thing, I just didn't always understand what I was watching!
I think "The Singing Detective" would be disturbing stuff for any child (and not just because of the psoriasis thing)! But I also think it's the one of most brilliant things I ever saw on TV. The dialogue (for one) was the best I'd ever heard in a TV series. The theme--facing the demons of the past and your own crippling feelings of guilt--is handled just about flawlessly, and with plenty of humor and (of course) great songs. (And Michael Gambon is a genius)
The BBC "Pennies from Heaven" is excellent too, just a notch or two below "The Singing Detective." It's a lot funnier than the Hollywood version (which can be weirdly slow-moving and cold, almost like you're watching an aquarium full of beautiful fish), and the characters are warmer and much more likable, I thought; even though it's a bit darker in some ways. (For instance, Eileen commits a murder late in the series and feels no guilt about it). I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. You ought to check it out. :-)
It is definitely on the list of things to see!
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