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''Arthur 2: On the Rocks'' is a 1988 American
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film and the
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 ...
to the 1981 film ''
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
''.
Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. He first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-perf ...
,
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...
,
John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...
,
Geraldine Fitzgerald Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (November 24, 1913 – July 17, 2005) was an Irish actress. She received the Daytime Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She was a member of the American T ...
,
Stephen Elliott Stephen Elliott may refer to: Entertainment *Stephen Elliott (actor), (1918–2005), American actor * Stephen Elliott (author) (born 1971), American author and activist Sport * Steve Elliott (footballer, born 1958), English footballer * Steve Ell ...
, Thomas Barbour,
Ted Ross Theodore Ross Roberts (June 30, 1934 – September 3, 2002) was an American actor best known for his role as the Lion in ''The Wiz'', an all-African American reinterpretation of ''The Wizard of Oz''. He won a Tony Award for the original 1975 ...
and
Barney Martin Barney Martin (March 3, 1923 – March 21, 2005) was an American actor, best known for playing Morty Seinfeld, father of Jerry, on the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1991–1998). He also played supporting roles in Mel Brooks's '' The Producers'' (1967 ...
reprise their roles with
Cynthia Sikes Cynthia Sikes Yorkin is an American actress known for her work on ''St. Elsewhere'' and ''Blade Runner 2049.'' Life and career In 1972, Yorkin won the crowning title of Miss Kansas and started attending Wichita State University. She then enter ...
replacing
Jill Eikenberry Jill Susan Eikenberry (born January 21, 1947) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey on the NBC drama ''L.A. Law'' (1986–94), for which she is a five-time Emmy Award and four-time Go ...
, who was committed to filming ''
L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...
'' at the time, in the role of Susan Johnson.
Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
also returned to score the film. The soundtrack also features songs by popular artists, including OMD and
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
. While still a comedy, ''On the Rocks'' is somewhat darker than its predecessor. The film received generally negative reviews and also was a financial disappointment when compared to the more successful original.


Plot

Roughly five years after the events of
the first film ''The First Film'' is a 2015 British documentary film about cinema pioneer Louis Le Prince, made by David Nicholas Wilkinson. It argues the case that Le Prince, rather than the Lumière brothers, was the true inventor of moving pictures, making ...
, Arthur Bach enjoys playing practical jokes on his new assistant, a friendly but uptight man named Fairchild, but still deeply misses Hobson. Arthur's wife Linda is told by a doctor that she cannot have children. The two decide to adopt a child instead from a woman named Mrs. Canby, but Arthur's continuing
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
is a cause for concern. Arthur is informed by his father that the family's company has undergone a business merger with Burt Johnson, the vengeful billionaire father of Susan Johnson, Arthur's ex-fiancee. The Bach family will keep their wealth and way of life, but only if Arthur is cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. Arthur confronts Burt about this, and Burt tells him that he can have his money back on two conditions: divorce Linda and marry Susan. Arthur refuses, as he loves Linda more than his lavish lifestyle. Now broke, Arthur and Linda move in with Linda's father, Ralph, and Linda gets back her old job as a waitress. Things are going well at first, but Burt is determined to make Susan happy, so he buys the building they are living in and forces Arthur and Linda to leave. Now homeless, Arthur and Linda move into a squalid apartment and Arthur tries to sober up to find a job, knowing that bad finances could ruin any chance they have of adopting a baby. After the owner takes pity on him, Arthur finds work at a hardware store, but Burt buys the store and has Arthur fired. Susan arrives at Arthur and Linda's apartment and tells Linda that if she really wants what's best for Arthur, then she should leave him, since Susan can have children, and Linda cannot. Realizing that Arthur is suffering because he is unwilling to let her go, Linda moves back in with her father and leaves Arthur a note telling him that he should marry Susan and live a comfortable life. Crestfallen at having lost Linda and still unwilling to marry Susan, Arthur begins drinking again and ends up living on the streets. At his lowest point, Arthur sees a vision of Hobson telling him that he cannot give up, because he knows Arthur will have a son, and Arthur must be there for him. Determined to get even with the Johnsons, Arthur gets sober again and learns from his grandmother, Martha, that Burt has made a lot of enemies that have dirt on him. Arthur meets with several people whose lives have been ruined by Burt Johnson, and learns of a
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
and
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
scheme that Burt was responsible for. Arthur sneaks onto Burt's yacht and confronts him, demanding that they leave him and Linda alone. Burt and his friends laugh at Arthur, freely admitting that the allegations are true, but the
statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
has expired and the evidence is worthless. Arthur punches Burt in the gut, and Burt attempts to kill Arthur with a
revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
. However, realizing that money cannot get her everything, Susan defends Arthur and tells her father to give Arthur his money back or she will tell her mother about his affairs. Burt reluctantly agrees. Arthur seeks out Linda and tells her that he has gotten his money back and secured the adoption of a child. Mrs. Canby arrives with their adopted child, a baby girl. Arthur is confused because Hobson had told him he would have a son. However, Linda surprises Arthur with the news that she is pregnant. The two return to their home and Fairchild plays a practical joke on Arthur for the first time. Arthur moves Fairchild into a new room, the room that used to belong to Hobson.


Cast


Production

In 1987,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
and
Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...
, the studio which made the original ''
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
'' (1981), made a tradeoff agreement to facilitate the filming of ''
Throw Momma from the Train ''Throw Momma from the Train'' is a 1987 American crime black comedy film starring and directed by Danny DeVito in his theatrical directorial debut. It co-stars Billy Crystal, Anne Ramsey, Rob Reiner, Branford Marsalis, Kim Greist and Kate ...
'' (1987), developed by
Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...
, and the development of ''Arthur 2''. The deal was provided by producer
Larry Brezner Lawrence Ira "Larry" Brezner (August 23, 1942 – October 5, 2015) was an American film producer, most notable for producing films such as ''Good Morning, Vietnam'', ''Throw Momma from the Train'', and '' Ride Along''. Life and career Born in t ...
, who produced ''Throw Momma from the Train'' as well as ''Arthur''. In return for permission to use clips from the
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
film '' Strangers on a Train'' (1951) in ''Throw Momma from the Train'', Brezner's production company surrendered the remake and sequel rights of ''Arthur'' to Warner Bros. Although Warner Bros. distributed the original ''Arthur'', the rights were jointly owned by Rollins, Joffe, Morra, Brezner, and Warner Bros.; Warner could not have proceeded with the ''Arthur'' sequel without the consent of Brezner's company.


Reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics and holds a
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 ...
rating of based on reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Arthur''s boozy charm curdles into a bad hangover in this unnecessary sequel." ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' opined that "the result is about as funny as the plight of an alcoholic."
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
gave the film a positive review, saying ''On the Rocks'' is "Not as classy a farce as the original, but still manages to be an amusing romp for most of its length." Liza Minnelli earned the 1988 Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst Actress" of the year, by performing in the film as well as '' Rent-a-Cop''.


Box office

The film was not a box office success, and was overshadowed by the release of ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...
''. It earned $14.7 million in American ticket sales, compared to the original film's $95.5 million.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur 2: On The Rocks 1988 films 1988 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films 1980s English-language films Films about alcoholism Films set in New York City American sequel films Films directed by Bud Yorkin Warner Bros. films Golden Raspberry Award–winning films American Christmas comedy films Arthur (film series) Films with screenplays by Andy Breckman Films scored by Burt Bacharach 1980s Christmas comedy films 1980s American films English-language romantic comedy films English-language Christmas comedy films