''Alfie'' is a 2004 romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film inspired by 1966 British film of the same name and its 1975

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

, starring

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

as the title character, originally played by

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

in the 1966 film and Alan Price in the 1975 sequel. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by Charles Shyer.

Plot

Alfie Elkins is a

Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

limo driver living in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. A sex addict, he regularly has

one-night stand A one-night stand is a single sexual encounter in which there is no expectation that there shall be any further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single night performanc ...

s with numerous women. In addition, he maintains a

casual relationship Casual dating or a casual relationship is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have casual sex or a near- sexual relationship while staying loyal to each other without necessarily demanding or expecting the addition ...

with single mother Julie, his "semi-regular-quasi-sort-of-girlfriend thing", and unhappily married Dorie. Once Dorie wants more than casual sex, he stops calling. Alfie and his coworker and best friend Marlon want to open a company together, but Marlon needs to get back with his ex, Lonette. When Alfie goes to put in a good word for him, he finds her at her bar. But after getting drunk, they have sex. Alfie meets Marlon the next day, terrified he knows about it, but is relieved when Marlon says he and Lonette got back together and are getting married. When Alfie goes to Julie's for a booty call, she immediately asks him to leave, confronting him as she had discovered Dorie's underwear in her rubbish bin—he had discarded them after finding them in his pocket. Intending to reconcile with her on her son's birthday, Alfie sees Julie has returned to her estranged husband. He later discovers Lonette is pregnant with his child, and (without telling Marlon) they go to a clinic for an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. Soon afterward, Marlon and Lonette unexpectedly move upstate, without saying goodbye. Following repeated failures to achieve an

erection An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a Physiology, physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, ...

, Alfie sees a doctor, who tells him he is perfectly healthy, and his impotence is due to stress. However, he finds a lump on Alfie's

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

. They immediately run a test at the clinic and he spends a few anxious days awaiting the results. On a trip to the hospital, Alfie meets Joe, a widower, in the bathroom. Joe gives life advice to the depressed Alfie: "Find somebody to love, and live every day like it's your last". Soon afterward, Alfie finds out he's cancer-free. Believing he's been given a second chance, Alfie decides to "aim higher" in his love life. He meets Nikki, a beautiful but unstable woman, and they quickly embark on a passionate, turbulent relationship. Moving in together, Alfie finds it hard to put up with her mood swings, especially after she goes off her medication. Distancing himself, he focuses on an older woman, Liz. A sultry cosmetics mogul, she inspires him to "aim higher". He becomes infatuated, but she wants to keep it strictly sexual. Alfie then ends it with Nikki. Running into Julie in a coffee shop, Alfie realizes he has feelings for her; however, she's now with someone else. On a trip upstate to visit Marlon and his now-wife, Lonette, she reveals she never had the abortion, and, Marlon knows Alfie is the father, but nonetheless decided to stay. Upon seeing Marlon with hurt in his eyes, Alfie visits Joe, who tells him to get his life together. Alfie turns to Liz for comfort but is crushed that she has an even younger man in her life. Alfie has a chance meeting with Dorie late one night. As he tries to get back into her life, she wants no part of him. Apologizing for not calling, he admits he has trouble expressing himself, running from relationships when they become too serious. She wishes him luck. The film ends with Alfie talking about genuinely changing his ways.

Cast

A black and white photograph of

representing Alfie Elkins Sr. appears during the film's credits.

Production

The film was shot throughout England, with locations doubling for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, along with on-set shooting in

. England locations included

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and

Port of Tilbury The Port of Tilbury is a port located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It serves as the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facili ...

(some dock scenes). New York City locations featured

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Music

The music score was composed by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

, Dave Stewart and John Powell, featuring 13 original songs and a remake of the original 1966 title song. Further songs are by

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

and

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

. For the song " Old Habits Die Hard", Jagger and Stewart won the BFCA Award, the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

, a Sierra Award, and the World Soundtrack Award.

Reception

Box office

''Alfie'' grossed $13,399,812 in the US and $21,750,734 in other countries for a worldwide total of $35,150,546 on a $60 million budget. The film opened on November 5, 2004, in the United States and grossed $2,206,738 on the first day. That weekend, the film was #5 in the box office with $6,218,335 behind ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...

'' opening weekend, '' Ray''s second, '' The Grudge''s third, and ''

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

''s second. When compared to its $60 million budget, ''Alfie'' was a

box office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

Critical response

''Alfie'' received mixed reviews. On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 48% based on 152 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "This unnecessary remake wants ''Alfie'' to have his cake and eat it, too, but a lack of sexual fizz and a sour performance by Jude Law conspire to deliver audiences a romantic comedy that isn't romantic or funny."

Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...

from '' Variety'' describes the film as "a breezy, sexy romp with a conscience that reflects in obvious but interesting ways on societal changes over the intervening 38 years."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

enjoyed the film, praising Law's performance and saying that "on its own terms, it's funny at times and finally sad and sweet." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' gave the film a "B−", praising the actresses and Law, but also noting "Jude Law would appear to have all the attributes of a movie star: looks, humor, rogue charm. Yet there's one he could use more of — an anger that might ignite his smooth presence."

Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis ( ) is an American film critic. She is the chief film critic for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', Dargis ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' states:

Unlike the 1966 British film on which it is based, with its abrasive star-making turn from Michael Caine, the new ''Alfie'' doesn't chase social significance – it just wants us to have a good time. The story's observations about male behavior aren't earth shattering...but what gives it its kick is how Alfie takes the film audience into his confidence. In both films, the character talks directly into the camera, a disarming strategy that brings us closer to this serial seducer than we might want. Playing narrator turns Alfie into a tour guide and something of his own defense attorney; it also means he has to enrapture the audience along with his conquests.

In 2024, Law expressed dissatisfaction with the film, "I was in a really strong position t that timebecause I'd just had another

scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrosis, fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other Organ (anatomy), organs, and biological tissue, t ...

nomination on the back of '' Cold Mountain'', and for ''Alfie'' to be the film I chose to do quite soon after that, I think was a bad move." Law also felt that the film "was made for too much money" and that he "was probably paid too much money, which I underestimated at the time."

References

External links