Arthur 2: On the Rocks

The late, great Dudley Moore returns as lovable drunk millionaire Arthur Bach in "Arthur 2: On the Rocks", set seven years after the original 1981 hit. Oscar winners Liza Minnelli and the late Sir John Gielgud both make their return in the sequel as well. The story picks up where the first film left off with Arthur marrying poverty-stricken Linda Marolla (Minnelli) instead of going through a prearranged wealthy marriage. Linda wants to take their marriage to the next level by adopting a baby. However, Burt Johnson (Stephen Elliott reprising his role), the father of the justifiably jilted bride Susan Johnson (played by Cynthia Sikes, replacing Jill Eikenberry from the first film) takes control of Arthur's $750 million dollar inheritance. And when Johnson starts pulling his crooked strings, Arthur is soon broke and homeless. Arthur tries to sober up to rise to the occasion and get a job in the process, which won't be easy for him since Burt Johnson is taking his revenge on Arthur in full stride. So, the big dilemma here is this: Will Arthur crawl back into a bottle, give in to Johnson's demands and marry Susan (divorcing Linda in the process), or will he save the day and get his money back? And as an extra added bonus to the film, Sir John Gielgud does make a cameo appearance as [spoiler ahead] the ghost of Arthur's endearing butler Hobson, which is also the performance that won Sir Gielgud the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor back in 1981. In conclusion, "Arthur 2: On the Rocks" may have been derided by critics when it was released back in 1988, but it's still a great sequel nevertheless. I have already bought the first "Arthur" here on iTunes, and more than likely, I'll buy the second one sometime soon to add to the first one. For the lifelong fans of the first "Arthur", you won't be disappointed with the second one!