Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)

Arthur loses all his money, and his wife wants a baby.

Director:

Bud Yorkin

Writers:

Steve Gordon (characters), Andy Breckman

Stars:

Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dudley Moore	...	Arthur Bach
Liza Minnelli	...	Linda Marolla Bach
John Gielgud	...	Hobson
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Martha Bach
Stephen Elliott	...	Burt Johnson
Paul Benedict	...	Fairchild
Cynthia Sikes	...	Susan Johnson
Kathy Bates	...	Mrs. Canby
Jack Gilford	...	Mr. Butterworth
Ted Ross	...	Bitterman
Barney Martin	...	Ralph Marolla
Thomas Barbour	...	Stanford Bach
David O'Brien	...	Millionaire
Ron Canada	...	Bartender
John C. Vennema	...	Maitre D' (as John Vennema)

Storyline

In this sequel to the 1981 hit movie, Arthur manages to lose his entire $750 million fortune. Will the former millionaire playboy be able to survive as a broke, unemployable alcoholic? To add to Arthur's problems, wife Linda's biological clock is ticking louder than ever, and she's pressuring him to start taking responsibility for himself.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | alcoholic | adoption | second part | 1980s | 

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Taglines:

No Money. Still Funny.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 July 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apentaros ekatommyriouhos

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$14,681,192 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Havlin-Robert Shapiro Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bath scene was a set built on the Warner Brother Studio stage, which sat atop the stage's West corner. The entire stage's floor covered the existing water tank pit. Because weight of the bath tub water in the enormous bath tub, plus the weight of the water in the very large fish-tank sitting behind the bath tub, the entire stage's Western corner area floor was covered with three layers of 3/4" x 4' 0" x 8' 0" plywood sheets in order to distribute the weight factor for set construction, lighting, camera equipment, actors and for the crew. The miniature train that ran at the base of the bath tub, was placed on tracks which were below the set floor, covered with an inserted overlay finish when the train was not operated. Water heaters for filling and circulating the bath water were located off set. The set walls and floor finish were painted, treated as a dark green marble hue with cream/white veins. The marble tint/hue matching the adjoining master bedroom's moss-green color. Filming Dudley Moore in his bath tub required Liza Minnelli to enter and confront "Arthur" sitting in his bath tub! Which meant that the right side of her profile would be photographed! After filming "Cabaret", Liza Minnelli had been instructed to favor her left profile in filming! Running lines and the scene for the cinema photographer, Liza demanded the bath tub be turned around, or that Dudley Moore be repositioned at the opposite end of the tub! The director refused her demand! Maintaining the scene's staging! Departing the rehearsal, Liza reached the off stage actor crew area, picked up a director's chair, hurling the chair twenty feet in a fit of rage and temper! The staging, and filming of the scene remained as rehearsed!

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Goofs

When Arthur enters Bert Johnson's yacht and is walking through the main cabin filled with Christmas party guests, a boom microphone operator can be seen on the right side of the screen.

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Quotes

Hobson: [Arthur is conversing with the ghost of Hobson] Arthur, I've seen your son.
Arthur: [Arthur, inebriated, looks stricken] Oh!
Hobson: I've told him all about you. But he still wants to meet you very much.
Arthur: Ah, old man, you're not playing fair!

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Connections

Referenced in Mad About You: The Unplanned Child (1993)

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Soundtracks

"WIVES AND LOVERS"
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David

User Reviews

enjoyable

Yeah I know it's not popular to like this one. I know it's been derided for being an unnecessary sequel and that's one of the nicer criticisms. It's been called every nasty thing in the book, but now I've seen it and I'm not sure what all of the negative fuss is about. I went into Arthur 2 expecting the worst. Instead I discovered that it's actually a very lovable little film. I like the original Arthur and this sequel. My only major disappointment was that I was in the mood for a truly bad movie. Instead it turned out to be a wonderful little flick. Arthur 2 left me smiling and feeling good. I'm going to buy the DVD. Thanks Arthur!