They're Remade Arthur

Back in the 1970s...perhaps even into the 1980s, being drunk was considered funny. A popular comedian was Foster Brooks, who went on stage sloshed to the eyeballs. (At least, he pretended to be sloshed.)

That kind of humor doesn't fly today - because unfortunately drunk people never seem to be smart enough to take a cab home from their bars, but rather always seem to try to drive home, with the result that more often than not they have car crashes and kill either themselves or others - not a subject for humor.

Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, was made in 1981 and was at the tail end of the "being drunk is funny" craze.

And it was rather amusing, as Dudley Moore had charm and comic timing, and also was only about 5 foot 2. "Cuddly Duddly" was his nickname.

This remake, starring the very tall Russell Brand as Arthur, and with Helen Mirren as Hobson (rather than John Gielgud.)

And the humor just doesn't fly today - or at least one hopes it doesn't.

There's nothing funny about a grown man being so drunk that he can't even stand up straight. Nothing funny about a man - or woman - who needs the crutch of alcohol, or drugs, at all.