Alfie (2004)

I have a friend in New York named George who has argued time and again that man's impulse to be polygamous is not only supported by history but biology as well. He and Jude Law's Alfie would no doubt get along splendidly. Both are irresistible to women, don't think all that often about "what it's all about," and on occasion justify their admitted fear of commitment with rhetoric that, while being deeply persuasive, is one their women choose not to see through. Alfie is not merely the embodiment of my friend George's sentiments -- enhanced for dramatic purposes by the good looks of Law and a bevy of buxom babes -- rather, it is an adamant refutation of their legitimacy.

The remake is exclusively Law's show and only an actor as gifted and good-looking as he could have portrayed, in our post-feminist era, the character Michael Caine made famous in 1966 without coming across as a complete cad. In the beginning, he's what we would expect from a fellow who places academic value on the chief virtues of women ("F.B.B. - face, boobs, bum," he explains) but he soon discovers that a life free-of-commitment is free-of-love as well.

The just-released DVD offers way more extra features than the film's $13 million gross suggests it deserves, including a commentary tracks by director Charles Shyer and his collaborators (editor Padraic McKinley and producer Elaine Pope), a roundtable discussion about the production hosted by Shyer, and featurettes about the "world" and "women" of Alfie, as well as the music. The disc also includes deleted scenes -- including an extended shot of Gedde Watanabe dancing to the film's theme song -- theatrical trailers, and enough script, storyboard, and production galleries to sustain even the most enamored Jude Law fan.

Most interesting are the comparison shots (in the featurettes) between the `66 and `04 Alfies. The women, for instance, are not nearly as glamorous in Caine's day as they are in Law's. But few recent DVDs provide a better crash course in production resilience than this one. McKinley describes the labyrintine process of assembling the film's opening montage of beauties who bat their eyes at Alfie and explains how the production was forced to shoot in as many as three different locations before matching the footage up for one seamless scene.

After sorting through all of the bonus materials, I'm passing Alfie on to my friend George, if he has the time between dates to watch it, that is. Not because I think he's in need of an education when it comes to commitment but because all of those arguments about biological predisposition forget to include one key element that trounces any and all logic: there is no denying humankind's very real and inescapable desire for meaningful companionship and with fly-by-night relationships, that simply isn't possible. To me, that's what Alfie is really all about. -- Todd Gilchrist