Alfie DVD > Reviews > I Love You, Jude!

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Jude Law, good acting from all the cast
Disadvantages:	the end seemed slow

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

From the moment I saw the adverts start for this on tv, I KNEW I had to watch it. Why? Well, mainly because Jude Law looked just so damned gorgeous. Nothing to do with his acting as, although I know I've seen a couple of films that he has been in in the past, I couldn't for the life of me remember how his acting was!

And I didn't really know what the story of "Alfie" was either. I knew it was a remake of a film starring Michael Caine in the title role, but that is all I could have told you. I KNEW Alfie was a womaniser, but I thought perhaps it was that he womanised until he met Sienna Miller's character and then changed in order to to win her affections. I think I, along with possibly other members of the public who hadn't seen the original, were probably led to believe this because of Jude and Sienna's high profile romance after meeting on the set of this film. Sometimes reality and fiction can blur like that, eh?

Anyway, Jude plays the role of Alfie, a bit of a cad who works as a chauffeur and spends his playtime (and some of his work time) seducing women. The film begins with him introducing himself and going through his grooming rituals of a morning, explaining that if you are a man who oozes masculinity, you have no reason to fear pink, and charming his landlady into cleaning his flat for him. This is just an initial look at the charming front that Alfie presents to the world.

Then we get to meet some of his women. There's Dorrie (Jane Krakowski - otherwise known as Elaine from Ally McBeal), married but getting no loving from her husband. And Julie (Marisa Tomei), the sweet and pretty one that Alfie really should be with except, in the nicest possible way, he doesn't think she is good enough to be on his arm. (Which is ridiculous, because she looks absolutely gorgeous in this film!) This proves once again just how shallow he is.

However, he remains loveable to us even at this stage because, in spite of his faults, he is fairly lovable and a good friend to his co-worker Marlon, providing support when he and his girlfriend break up. But then he does something which, while perhaps we can see coming, is pretty unforgivable and shows that REALLY he doesn't really care about people's feelings apart from his own.

Then a couple of potentially life-changing incidents conspire to make him think about changing the way he lives. Firstly, he gets massive dose of impotence, then he discovers he has a lump on his, er, private bits. This makes him realise he doesn't really want to be alone anymore and, when he meets Nikki (Miller) it seems like fate has thrown his perfect woman right into his lap (no pun intended!).

However, Nikki is extremely screwed up under her perfect exterior and Alfie's resolve towards fidelity and monogamny quickly begins to weaken. His attention begins to wonder, towards a potential relationship with older woman Liz (Susan Sarandon).

Will Alfie actually ever be able to change his life and become a better person? Does he even want to? And, if he does, will anyone even care anymore?

This film confused me in a way because I couldn't quite decide what genre it was meant to fit in. Was it comedy, romance, drama, or a combination of all three? At the start of the film, it seemed very "Bridget Jones" like, with all his grooming tips and quips aimed at the camera. Then, although he talks to the camera often throughout the film, it seemed to become a lot more serious. There were still a number of funny lines and incidents, but it didn't seem quite as shallow. Perhaps this went along with Alfie's own self-realisation and his development as a character throughout the film.

The only thing I will say to attack this film (apart from my comments about Susan Sarandon, which I will address in a minute or two) is that the ending seemed to drag a little. The film wasn't particularly long (it lasted a little under two hours) but the last 20 minutes or so the action just seemed to move along really slowly. I could have done with a quicker conclusion but maybe they thought it would be too short then and that Jude's character wouldn't have developed fully.

I have heard people say Jude Law can't do the womaniser thing properly because he is too pretty, and that Michael Caine's portayal was far better because he REALLY treated the women in his life like crap. But I LIKED the way Jude played the role because he was a very LIKEABLE cad, in spite of his obvious shallow attitude to life and women. He was very good in this role and LOOKED very good, which isn't quite as important as the acting, but it helps to have something nice to look at.

And speaking of nice things to look at - well, you guys will have several nice things to look at, most obviously Sienna Miller. She really proves in this film that she can act, although she isn't in it as much as I expected her to be. I was so jealous of her as well, not because she is going out with Jude Law (well not much!) - but because she is so gorgeous and she is three years YOUNGER than me. AND she can act. Isn't life unfair?

Tomei and Krakowski also put in good performances, as well as Omar Epps as the betrayed friend Marlon. I could have done without Susan Sarandon however - she is undoubtedly a good actress but her face just annoys me. I would have preferred they'd cast a different "older woman" actress - maybe Geena Davis or Sigourney Weaver? Still that's my personal opinion and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who think Susan Sarandon was perfect for the role!

I would definitely recommend this film. It is a very entertaining watch and is worth a look just for the quality of the acting. I will definitely be watching it again once it comes out on dvd!