Alfie
Release date: 2004-10-22
Votes: 830
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
A tale of a philosophical womanizer who is forced to question his seemingly carefree existence.
Reviews
wizzardss
Based on the 1966 film of the same name (and, in turn the 1963 stage play), 2004's _Alfie_ stars Jude Law as a British commitment-shy play boy in Manhattan. Much like the original film, Alfie finds himself surrounded by beautiful women with a different one to jump into bed with each night. He treats both them and his friends like dirt, but doesn't care when he knows his charm can replace them. If the original film contained a plot that would make the world blush when looked through a contemporary lens, then 2004's _Alfie_ attempts, in a way, to update that story for its modern audience. As is typical with remakes of old British films, the location has been moved to appease its American audience but a tacit nod to the Cockney charm of _Alfie_'s original actor (Michael Caine) in the form of Jude Law. To his credit, Jude Law does emanate charm in the same way that Caine did in 1966, mercilessly moving on from one relationship to the next without worry about consequence. However, with Alfie remaining English in New York, this has the unfortunate effect of making him stand out, and when a protagonist is clearly designed not to be likeable, then by having him contrast from the surrounding cast just alienates him further. In addition, with the persistent nods to high fashion, Alfie isn't even relatable for most people as "that laddish friend" they once knew, and he comes across as both pompous and arrogant. The story lifts large parts of the original, but seems to drop many of the subtle links between Alfie's relationships making him appear far more crass. Retained is Alfie's smoking habit, which is out of place in a modern film made all the worse by the inexplicable removal of why smoking was relevant to the original story. Overall, _Alfie_ is a complete mis-step made even more uncomfortable by the emergence of the #MeToo movement.
CinemaSerf
Some films just don't need an "update". "Alfie" certainly didn't. Certainly Jude Law has a certain je ne sais quoi reprising the Michael Caine role as the womanising philanderer. His normal hump 'em and dump' em strategy is soon seriously compromised by his inability to "perform" and this has all sorts of ramifications on his shallow existence (relocated to New York in this version). Sienna Miller and Susan Sarandon fail to help lift this great looking but intellectually void film get going, and Law - though every inch the dapper, gorgeous, gigolo to look at - just hasn't the charm or sleaziness of Caine. It does have a decent soundtrack, but not the same with out Cilla Black...
Movie Recommendation
Ali G: Bling Bling2001-10-31Bling Bling is an assortment of Ali G's interviews; a couple of them with possibly the last people in Britain who didn't realise that someone was pulling their leg and several with American grandees of various sorts, including economist JK Galbraith and former CIA director Admiral Stansfield Turner. The real selling point, however, is Ali G's undeniably spectacular Comic Relief interviewMore...
The Disorderly Orderly1964-12-16Poor Jerome Littlefield. He wants to be a doctor – but that's not exactly the perfect career choice when you're hopelessly squeamish. So he settles for the job of orderly at the Whitestone Sanitarium, a career move that's guaranteed to keep the patients – and viewers – in stitches!More...
Stormy Monday1988-05-01When a corrupt American businessman tries to strong arm his way into businesses in Newcastle, England, he is thwarted by a club attendant and his waitress girlfriend.More...
The Sweeter Side of Life2013-07-11Pampered Manhattan housewife Desiree Harper has it all. That is until her husband unexpectedly dumps her for his acupuncturist. Faced with an airtight prenup, Desiree reluctantly lands a job making cupcakes at her father's bakery in Flemington, NJ. She soon discovers there's more to life than 5th Avenue and true love can be even sweeter in small town America.More...
3 Guys, 1 Girl, 2 Weddings2004-05-29Romance meets farce against the backdrop of a quiet campaign to legalize gay marriage. Laurent loves his roommate Dan, who's straight and a playboy. Laurent can't bring himself to tell Dan, but is content to share a flat and to party with him. Then Camille comes along, Dan falls hard, and Laurent is beside himself: he tries to sabotage the relationship, but each effort backfires. After Dan moves in with Camille, Laurent enlists the help of Sam, his new lesbian flatmate, and Nick, a long-time gay friend. As the lovers head toward marriage, Laurent becomes more desperate. His efforts may be having an effect, if not on Dan, then on Camille. Which love will triumph?More...
March of The Living2010-09-24The moving story of the last generation of Holocaust survivors who travel to Poland with thousands of teenagers from around the world to retrace the Death March from Auschwitz to Birkenau.More...
Alfie1966-03-29A young man leads a promiscuous lifestyle until several life reversals make him rethink his purposes and goals in life.More...
Meet Monica Velour2010-06-04For Tobe, a nerdy, horny, frizzy-haired cineaste who doesn't quite fit in with the average contemporary teen, the pinnacle of womanhood is Monica Velour, a soft-core actress who reached the zenith of her career in the 1980s. When Tobe learns that his love idol is headlining hundreds of miles away at the Gentlemen's Petting Zoo in Indiana, he drives off with carefree glory, filled with the hope of meeting her.More...
Someone Like You...2001-03-30Jane Goodale has everything going for her. She's a producer on a popular daytime talk show, and is in a hot romance with the show's dashing executive producer Ray. But when the relationship goes terribly awry, Jane begins an extensive study of the male animal, including her womanizing roommate Eddie. Jane puts her studies and romantic misadventure to use as a pseudonymous sex columnist -- and becomes a sensation.More...
2001: A Space Travesty2000-10-31When odd reports are received through official channels stating that the President of the United States is being held captive on a secret international moon base called Vegan and that he has been replaced on Earth by a clone, the US Marshall Service immediately sends their 'best' man, Dix, on the mission.More...
Jackie & Ryan2014-09-01A modern day train hopper fighting to be a successful musician and a single mom battling to maintain custody of her daughter defy their circumstances by coming together in a relationship that may change each others lives forever.More...
As It Is in Heaven2004-09-03A musical romantic tragedy about a famous composer who moves back to his small hometown after having had heart troubles. His search for a simple everyday life leads him into teaching the local church choir, which is not easily accepted by the town yet the choir builds a great love for their teacher.More...
Ronal the Barbarian2011-09-27Ronal is a young barbarian with low self-esteem, the polar opposite of all the muscular barbarians in his village. He's a real wuss. However, as fate would have it, responsibility for the tribe's survival falls on Ronal's scrawny shoulders, when the evil Lord Volcazar raids the village and abducts every living barbarian with the exception of Ronal, who is forced to go on a perilous quest to save his enslaved clan and thwart Volcazar’s plot to rule the world.More...
A Midsummer Night's Dream1999-05-20The lovely Hermia is to wed Demetrius, but she truly cares for Lysander. Hermia's friend, Helena, is in love with Demetrius, while other romantic entanglements abound in the woods, with married fairy rulers Titania and Oberon toying with various lovers and each other.More...
Dom Hemingway2013-11-14After spending 12 years in prison for keeping his mouth shut, notorious safe-cracker Dom Hemingway is back on the streets of London looking to collect what he's owed.More...
Wilde1997-09-01The story of Oscar Wilde, genius, poet, playwright and the First Modern Man. The self-realisation of his homosexuality caused Wilde enormous torment as he juggled marriage, fatherhood and responsibility with his obsessive love for Lord Alfred Douglas.More...
Never on the First Night2014-01-01Julie, a woman who is unlucky in love despite her bubbly demeanor. Her job at a bookstore takes an interesting twist when she discovers a book titled "Happiness Can Be Learned," and she sets out to fix her love life once and for all.More...
Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose ?2003-06-04FBI Agents Bullit and Riper investigate the murder of a young dancer called Pamela Rose, found dead in her motel room in Bornsville, a small american town. Despite their differences, they must team up: the local police is hostile and they can only count on themselves to solve the crime. They meet Ginger, Pamela's best friend, and discover soon enough she knows more than she says.More...
Certain Women2016-09-25Three strong-willed women strive to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest: a lawyer forced to subdue a troubled client; a wife and mother whose plans to construct her dream home reveal fissures in her marriage; and a lonely ranch hand who forms an ambiguous bond with a young law student.More...
Village of the Damned1960-06-16In a small English village everyone suddenly falls unconscious. When they awake every woman of child bearing age is pregnant. The resulting children have the same strange blond hair, eyes and a strong connection to each other.More...
Similar Movies
London
2005-09-03London is a drug laden adventure that centers on a party in a New York loft where a young man is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend.Cocktail
1988-07-29After being discharged from the Army, Brian Flanagan moves back to Queens and takes a job in a bar run by Doug Coughlin, who teaches Brian the fine art of bar-tending. Brian quickly becomes a patron favorite with his flashy drink-mixing style, and Brian adopts his mentor's cynical philosophy on life and goes for the money.Come Early Morning
2006-01-10A thirty-something southern woman searches for love, despite the burdens she carries with her.Fun with Dick and Jan...
2005-12-21After Dick Harper loses his job at Globodyne in an Enron-esque collapse, he and his wife, Jane, turn to crime in order to handle the massive debt they now face. Two intelligent people, Dick and Jane actually get pretty good at robbing people and even enjoy it -- but they have second thoughts when they're reminded that crime can hurt innocent people. When the couple hears that Globodyne boss Jack McCallister actually swindled the company, they plot revenge.Wedding Daze
2006-09-09After losing the woman of his dreams, Anderson is convinced he'll never fall in love again. But at the urging of his best friend, he spontaneously proposes to a dissatisfied waitress named Katie and an innocent dare evolves into the kind of love that both have been looking for all along.Half Nelson
2006-08-11Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.Side Effects
2005-03-07America! Built on a better pill. Karly Hert has spent the last ten years selling drugs. Legally, that is. Karly is a pharmaceutical sales representative. She sells pills to doctors. She makes lots of money. She has a company car. She has a nice fat expense account. But there's a growing pit in Karly's stomach. Something isn't right behind the scenes at big pharma. Based on the director's decade working directly for the industry.Hers
2022-06-30A boy embraces the future while putting away the past.Bad Cupid
2021-02-11Archie is a God on a mission to ensure that true love always wins. Or, short of that, that someone is going to die trying. Not that he particularly cares which outcome it is. That's Archie's "Bad Cupid" approach to romance and beware anyone who gets in his way, especially anyone he's actually trying to help.Carrie
2002-11-04An awkward, telekinetic teenage girl's lonely life is dominated by relentless bullying at school and an oppressive religious fanatic mother at home. When her tormentors pull a humiliating prank at the senior prom, she unleashes a horrifying chaos on everyone, leaving nothing but destruction in her wake.Brothers
2009-12-02When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.After We Collided
2020-09-02Tessa finds herself struggling with her complicated relationship with Hardin; she faces a dilemma that could change their lives forever.Tonight at Noon
No data for this movieLee and Mae are a couple trying to work out their differences. As Mae struggles with memories of a former flame, Lee, who is a writer, works through his frustration by forming his problems into a story in his mind. And that's when everything starts shifting back and forth from reality to Lee's imagination.Tiptoes
2002-12-17A man is reluctant to tell his fiancee that his parents, uncle and brother are dwarfs.Gigli
2003-08-01Gigli is ordered to kidnap the psychologically challenged younger brother of a powerful federal prosecutor. When plans go awry, Gigli's boss sends in Ricki, a gorgeous free-spirited female gangster who has her own set of orders to assist with the kidnapping. But Gigli begins falling for the decidedly unavailable Ricki, which could be a hazard to his occupation.Hard Eight
1996-05-15A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.A Life Less Ordinary
1997-10-24A couple of angels, O'Reilly and Jackson, are sent to Earth to make sure that their next supervised love-connection succeeds. They follow Celine, a spoiled rich girl who has just accidentally shot a suitor and, due to a misunderstanding, is kidnapped by janitor Robert. Although Celine quickly frees herself, she stays with Robert for thrills. O'Reilly and Jackson pursue, hoping to unite the prospective lovers.Broken Embraces
2009-03-18Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.Interview
2007-07-13After falling out with his editor, a fading political journalist is forced to interview America's most popular soap actress.Rocco and His Brother...
1960-10-07When a impoverished widow’s family moves to the big city, two of her five sons become romantic rivals with deadly results.