By: Eliot John Hagen (April 13, 2005)

Most movies nowadays are straight (and stupid) comedy, over-the-top drama, or hackneyed horror. "Alfie," however, does not fall into any of those categories. Jude Law plays smooth operator (and limo driver) Alfie Elkins in present-day Manhattan. Strangely enough, in the first scene of the movie, he wakes up without a beautiful woman in his bed (which I full-well expected to see). An explanation of the female absence follows, and before he exits his apartment, his reputation is sealed.

This chauffeur with a seemingly insurmountable obsession with back-seat driving goes on to narrate his life; bird after bird after bird. It’s funny to see him woo the ladies, chatting with the audience while he tries to hide one girl’s clothing in the trash can while trying to remove another’s. He’s an ass, and you know it, but you can’t help but root for him.

With no actual co-star, Alfie runs into several women, (Marisa Tomei and Susan Sarandon) all of whom give him a nudge on his path to his eventual and bittersweet revelation.

While the film does its job as a romantic comedy, you start to feel downhearted a little more than an hour into the movie. You might even shed a tear or two as Alfie begins to realize that he had been getting everything from these women while giving nothing in return. What can be said is that Alfie got his comeuppance.

Jude Law does a good job, along with the rest of the cast. If you’re hankering for a few laughs, a few tears, and a sense of just completion, Alfie won’t disappoint you. You feel sorry for Alfie at the end, but you also feel like he’s learned his lesson, gotten what he deserved, and has a future. Pick it up at Blockbuster. It’s not great, (it seems few movies are in this day and age, though) but you should feel satisfied enough at the end.