Arthur's Whisky

Arthur's Whisky (2024) is a mess of movie despite the cast. Badly written and directed and with that annoying non-stop Disney pixie music.

Yet another story where three old friends meet at a funeral (apparently older women only meet at funerals, at school reunions, or when they go on road trips) to bury Joan's eccentric husband. Joan (Patricia Hodge) has never been especially happy. There's also Linda (Diane Keaton) and Susan (Lulu) who are also alone. When they decide to clean out the husband's shed (where he invented things) they come upon a bottle of whisky and of course quickly drink it.

The plot starts way to fast. We have no real idea who these women are. So with virtually no backstory, we learn that the whisky turns them into 20-year-olds. Off to the clubs we go. But the transformation only lasts 6 hours.

From there on we get a bunch of disjointed narratives about wasted lives and lost youth and then we end up in Vegas at a Boy George drag show. Nothing flows. Nothing makes much sense. We never know who these women are except at the end when the Hodge character meets up with an old friend (Hayley Mills).

Wasted talent in a film that was never developed.

I am a fan of Keaton, so when I read about Arthur's Whisky and also that it was a British Comedy I knew that I would have to give it a go.

Hodges, Keaton, and Lulu are fantastic in the older versions of themselves. Joan (played by Hodges) is married to an eccentric inventor of nothing very useful until one night he perfects a youth serum and, in the process of his celebrations gets killed in a freak accident. Joan's friends (Keaton and Lulu) gather around for moral support and upon cleaning out Arthur's shed discover what they think is a bottle of whisky. After downing nearly the whole bottle they wake up the next morning in their 20's.

The idea is fantastic. However, it was lacking something. The actresses playing the younger versions were barely tolerable in their roles. They were way over the top in their characterizations.

The story did however deliver a few good messages - we should live life to the full, not have any regrets, and don't be pressured by what we deem society expects us to be like.

The movie had a great cameo by Boy George, so that was a highlight.

Not sure I understand the harshness of many of these reviews. Not every movie has to be life and death. This is just a simple little movie, telling a little simple story about three women...their dreams....their hopes ...their disappointments....and maybe a second chance. This is a movie to just take a breath...slow down ...and just watch three exceptionally fine actresses tell a story. No need to tear it apart and critique it. There is no need to. How about simply spending a nice quiet hour and a half enjoying a nice story. This is that kind of movie. These are those type of actresses. Just enjoy the movie.

As a Scot from Glasgow, watching Lulu, a Scot from Glasgow, trying to put on a Scottish accent and refer to Glasgow as Glasga was like a punch in the stomach.

The premise seemed funny but the film really didn't hit the mark.

The younger casting really was off too. Patricia Hodge and Diane Keaton are great actresses. Their younger counterparts not so much.

Lulu hasn't done a lot of acting, and it shows, again the accent was really painful.

The script was pretty dire, which is a shame because in the right hands this could have been quite a good little comedy film, however it was just a bit embarrassing.

Wow, don't judge this one by its rating folks. I don't know if a lot of people are just ageist or sexist or what, but this movie is by no means as bad as the 1 or 2 star ratings would suggest. It's very humble and genuinely charming. The three leads have fun, make scenes that would be otherwise stale beautiful and enjoyable and overall I laughed, I cried, and got way more than I thought I was in store for. It's plot is paper thin and maybe that doesn't set right with a lot of people but it doesn't need an overly glamorous string of intricate plot outlines to be a good and gentle movie. This won't win any Oscars or Golden Globes, but damn it was it enjoyable, and I just love Diane Keaton. Thumbs up!