Overrated and overhyped

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Alfie is a playboy, a lonely soul, enjoying life. Thanks to his good appearance, he meets women, has fun with them and then very fast, dumps them. He has nothing to worry about, not even about his home in which he hardly sleeps. All seems to be going well but he's about to find out that a person's life isn't really that easy. Along the way, he makes a lot of mistakes which at the moment aren't acknowledged, but as time goes by, they collapse on him, one by one, making him change his mentality. The question is, will Alfie be able to do something before it's too late?I really liked the whole idea of this movie and especially how it's presented by the main character himself throughout the whole movie. Seeing how a person's life can take such a dramatic turn is quite staggering to be honest, but nevertheless, it's reality. I also liked the way the movie kept me focused all the time, without any "dead" or boring moments but unfortunately I was expecting more from the finale. Maybe it's just me that wanted some sort of happy ending which frankly wasn't there but overall, it's a great movie.

Not as good as the original, but it has its moments. The original Alfie was a visceral experience. You felt infuriated at his behaviour, yet laughed at it occasionally (at him, not with him). There was an edginess to it, as if it was going out of its way to annoy and offend you. Plus you had the superb performance of Michael Caine.This version is a lot less annoying, which is bad. Alfie's actions almost seem...normal and commonplace. His actions are certainly not being glorified, but they seem a lot less extreme.The new version does have its charms though. Jude Law is suitably suave and charming in the lead role. There is a swagger and big city sophistication to it. The soundtrack (mostly composed and performed by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart) is great, and works very well with the movie.So, not as good as the original, but reasonably entertaining nonetheless.

This is a clever little film, intricately designed to appeal, I think, to certain women. It works so well on so many levels as a chick flick that one is left wondering, at the end, why it was so uninspiring even on that level. But, for me at least, that was the bottom line - a gorgeous film, full of gorgeous models, that ultimately caters only to the eyes and not the head.Jude Law is magnificent, perfectly cast (for the burden placed on him here, at least) as the ultimate chick magnet. Boyish, winning smile, perfectly composed at all times, handsome as a male model. His menial job doesn't matter in this fantasy world, all that counts are his classically good looks, that's his ticket. A very stereotypically feminine sensibility, if you will, as I don't think many of us know of men in our own lives who can get along like that - that is more a given of the female of the species. You almost half believe, while he rides around (beautifully shot) Manhattan on his adorable little moped, that female models actually do compose the entire sidewalk population. Naturally, they have nothing else to do but turn from whatever they are doing so they can gaze on Alfie's awesomeness. Here's a thought - put a female model on a cute little moped cruising Manhattan and that might actually be realistic.Which leads me to my main point. The whole thrust of this film is that Alfie is meant to be seen from a womanly perspective. It is the female gaze they are pandering to, not the standard male gaze. That's the trick - switch everyone's gender, and suddenly the light switches on. The women in the audience are meant to put themselves in Alfie's shoes. Once that is accomplished, the whole thing makes perfect sense and serves as a Nice Moral Lesson.Well, for sure. But the picture only gets lovelier. Alfie lives for women, and serves as their no-questions-asked lover of the moment. He fatally supposes that romance/sex/love has no consequences, but - egad, shocker! - it does. Dropping women like flies after seducing them eventually catches up with him. Oh, my! So, we have the perfect set-up to comfort every woman: Mr. Irresistible who callously breaks hearts before breakfast is actually weak like everyone else, and has feelings, and is susceptible to emotional dramas and manipulations. Well, ladies, we can't leave him blissful in his cruel ignorance! The film becomes a meditation on the comeuppance of somebody who is aggressively shallow, and whose fatal crime is that he knows how shallow he is the whole time and Just Doesn't Care. Criminal serial feelings offender! It's all about the emotions, baby. Hurt peoples' feelings and you will rue the day.Alfie takes his "girlfriend" for granted and loses her - and when of course he realizes how much he needed her, it's too late, she's with someone else who is just simply to die for. Isn't this every "mistreated" woman's fantasy? Heartlessly dump another one who's not worthy - and she summarizes his character a little too perfectly as she plays the martyr and pathetically leaves in the cold and rain (you better feel guilty now, boy!). His fantasy figure turns out to be a sophisticated much older woman (cough cough audience fantasy fulfillment cough cough), but she serves up to him what he had been serving up to others - wow, couldn't see THAT one coming. The big twist(s) at the end is hardly worth the wait, but perhaps some will see this as "deep." If so, it would be the only such moment in the film. "I took advantage of women and didn't give, only took, and that is a bad thing which leaves me a fancy-pants loser" - what Solomonic wisdom.At heart, the moral of the film - if you want to dignify it as such - is that drifting through life as if it were a fast-food meal ultimately is unsatisfying. Fair enough. But the character of Alfie becomes uneven, set up as so insightful, perceptive and knowledgeable about so many things relating to women and relationships in order to seduce them, yet ultimately blind to the perfectly obvious consequences of his dark designs. Making the cultured Alfie appear simplistic at the end when he needs to be because finally he is on the receiving end is done in grotesquely ham-handed fashion. Suddenly, Alfie is shown to be so uneducated that he never learned how to pronounce the word "Aphrodite." Oh, you poor, uncouth loser. The perceptive fellow who has been giving us the (eventually tedious) running monologue throughout the film, shading delicate situations with extreme subtlety while he spins his evil (from a female perspective, natch) little webs turns out to be our inferior, hopelessly beneath us! Yay, now burn him at the stake!It was a nice touch having Mick Jagger do the score. Someone behind the scenes had a good chuckle about that. Hope you didn't sprain your wrist patting yourself on the back! Hey, he sang backup on "You're So Vain," too, so this isn't the first time. If you want obvious, well, this will hit the spot.I didn't like the film. It said nothing to me, can you guess? But it may make you feel good for a spell, waiting for little Mr. I'm So Vain to get it in the end (no, not THAT way). The saving grace is that "Alfie" is so full of beautiful people, and things, and situations that it is easy on the eyes. Plus, it doesn't require any thought, everything is s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t for you. You know, like A-p-h-r-o-d-i-t-e. Burger and fries with a diet coke! So, if you like Jude Law and all that jazz, well, give this one a whirl.

Moving from Britain to Manhattan, dashing Jude Law (as Alfie Elkins) begins to sample a variety of New York's finest women. He's got sweet 'n' pretty Marisa Tomei (as Julie) serving as girlfriend while continuing "one night stands" and other affairs. Since Mr. Law won't commit, Ms. Tomei wants a more stable mate. To replace her, Law shacks up with smokin' Sienna Miller (as Nikki), who goes topless for the camera. But, sexy Susan Sarandon (as Liz) also commands Law's attention; she likes younger men. And, Law gives luscious Nia Long (as Lonette) a whirl on the pool table, even though she's best friend Omar Epps (as Marlon)'s fiancée.Director Charles Shyer's "Alfie" is a great looking film, with wonderful cinematography by Ashley Rowe and editing by Padraic McKinley. Mick Jagger sings the appropriate "Old Habits Die Hard". Much of the film is pure eye candy - not only the sexy cast, but also scenes like the beautifully lighted street Law walks down after receiving good news from the doctor. Watch for it after Law splashes in some rain puddles. Still, the story is a little lame, considering how times have changed since Michael Caine's original "Alfie" (1966). Herein, Law gets "E.D.", and a feminine doctor is able to get it up again. What's that all about, Alfie? ****** Alfie (10/22/04) Charles Shyer ~ Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Sienna Miller, Susan Sarandon