Arthur [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [2011]

While the film itself may have failed to connect with audiences, the soundtrack for first-time director Jason Winer's 2011 remake of the Dudley Moore comedy classic Arthur is bristling with inspiration. Instead of populating the film with stock, predictable radio hits, Winer asked some of his favorite songwriters, specifically Daniel Merriweather and Ben Gibbard, to pen songs for specific moments in the film. It's an odd blend of Once and Austin Powers, with Gibbard and Merriweather taking on the Glenn Hansard and Markéta Irglová roles and Mark Ronson supplying kitschy bombast (his triumphant "A Harmless Game of Dress Up" conjures up more than a few images of Chauncey Gardiner leaving his house for the first time in Being There). Wistful, goofy, and self-aware (the infamous Christopher Cross theme is given a winking, soulful update by Fitz & the Tantrums), Arthur, at least on audio, feels less like a reboot and more like the first chapter of a new story. ~ James Christopher Monger