I'm watching the 1981 movie Arthur as I write. When it first came out, I loved it. A couple fighting convention to follow their hearts, clever writing, a wonderful performance by Gielgud, and my crush on Cuddley Dudley Moore. Oh, and I was involved with an abusive alcoholic. I was ripe for a movie that completely romanticized being in love with a drunk. (He was, to be fair, better looking than Dudley Moore. But he was mean, selfish and, in some ways, dumb as a stump. The key to our powerful attraction is akin to the conventional wisdom about Fred and Ginger: he gave me sex appeal and I gave him intellectual validity. That's why back in 1981 our friends referred to us as "Sam and Diane.")
But back to Arthur. I can't believe a movie with so many scenes of drunk driving, so many scenes of excessive drinking, was mainstream entertainment. Alcoholism is not funny. There are health consequences to drinking from sun up to sunset. There are very, very serious consequences to driving drunk.
Ask Mel Gibson.
Too bad, because the dialog is still very, very funny. But I just can't enjoy it anymore.
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