New 'Alfie' looks sharp but has lost its teeth

When Michael Caine brought the character Alfie to life onscreen back in the swingin' 1960s, his Cockney cab driver was a superficial, misogynistic, womanizing scoundrel.

MOVIE REVIEW

ALFIE

DIRECTOR: Charles Shyer

CAST: Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, Nia Long, Sienna Miller

RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes

RATING: R for sexual content, some language and drug use

WHERE: Bella Bottega 11, Cinema 17, Crossroads 8, East Valley 13, Everett 9, Factoria, Galleria 11, Gateway 8, Grand Cinemas, Issaquah 9, Longston Place 14, Marysville Cinema 14, Metro, Monroe 12, Mountlake 9, Oak Tree, Pacific Place, Parkway Plaza 12, Woodinville 12.

GRADE: B

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Nearly 40 years later, the new Alfie -- as played by Jude Law -- is still a superficial, misogynistic, womanizing scoundrel ... only get this: This time he's a kinder, gentler (not to mention hotter) superficial, misogynistic, womanizing scoundrel.

In a way, it's hardly a surprise. It's hard to imagine Law delivering an Alfie as cold and calculating as Caine's was in 1966. Perhaps he's simply too pretty on the outside to play someone so ugly on the inside. Or perhaps this round of filmmakers just aren't as daring.

The film remains the story of a skirt-chasing player who toys with a single mother's heartstrings and impregnates the love of his best friend's life (Nia Long). He's the kind of man who sees women as mere playthings, sizing them up based on all things surface while treating their emotions and desires as mere trifles and annoyances. And, as in the original, Alfie speaks directly to the camera, bestowing his shallow bits of wisdom wherever he goes.

But, unlike the original Alfie, this lad (living in glitzy New York, rather than gritty London) is less calculating and manipulative. He's softer around the edges, somehow more thoughtful -- vulnerable even -- as he works his way through a series of women. Oh sure, he's a wrong-headed metrosexual consumed with stylish clothes and stylish women, but his vulnerable moments and boyish charisma make him a rather likeable lout.

In addition, the women Alfie encounters are (thankfully) a far tougher and more independent lot (though I still long to see one of them sock him hard on the nose). And the performances are excellent. It's a true joy to watch Susan Sarandon, who reprises Shelley Winters' role, deliver Alfie his due, and newcomer Sienna Miller does an excellent turn as a downward-spiraling party girl.

Ultimately though, this remake doesn't stand up to the original. And it's precisely because this new Alfie is more likeable and thus less challenging. It was Caine's deliciously appalling portrayal of the nearly heartless cad that made "Alfie" so fascinating to watch. That movie pulled few punches, with Alfie referring to women as "it" and organizing an illegal abortion for one of his conquests (whom he slaps when she cries out in pain).

Our modern Alfie wouldn't do these things. His tale is lighter fare that refuses to fully embrace the uncomfortable and often downright disturbing realities that sometimes go with sex and relationships. Alas, it's this kind of gritty, horrifying realism that made the original such a wonderful film.

Winda Benedetti is a Seattle-based freelance writer who can be reached at Goodgirlfriday@gmail.com.