If you’re a fan of old classics, then you’re going to hate the current trend of remakes. Let’s not even talk about domestic remakes, but there are plenty of foreign remakes of classics that have flopped. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The American version of The Untouchables has three superstars in the cast, Bryan Cranston, who played the “old white man” in The Terminator. Nicole Kidman, who shows no signs of age. and Kevin Hart, who makes me laugh when I see him.
In comparison to the casting of the original, White and Kidman are absolutely fine, but Kevin Hart, is he really here to play a caregiver? Remember that the black carer in the original version was played by Omar Sy, who is 6’9″. And Kevin Hart, who specialises in comedies, is only 6’3″. If the two of them stood together, this would probably be the picture.
Kevin has not had a good year. He was originally scheduled to host the Oscars earlier this year, but had to be temporarily pulled from the Oscars because of his previous inappropriate comments, which led to a ferment of public opinion. And his starring role in Night School has received mediocre reviews, nowhere near as good as his role in last year’s Braveheart’s Game with Boulder Johnson. But just when you thought he could only do off-key R-rated comedies, The Untouchables makes you want to give him credit again.
The plot is almost identical to the original. A black man at the bottom of the social ladder has to go looking for a job during the bail process and ends up unwittingly at the home of P, a $100 billionaire who is hiring, which leads to a series of touching stories. P was paralysed by a parachuting accident that killed his wife, so he was left in bed with a carer to look after him for the rest of his life.
The carer has to feed, bathe, change and insert urine bags and even help with defecation. Although he was well paid and was inundated with applications, P was not successful in any of them. The housekeeper (Nicole Kidman), who is in charge of his daily routine, is helpless. She knows that P is being deliberately difficult, but she has to do what he wants, recruiting and changing people. But Dell, who is only here to ask for an autograph so she can deal with the bailiff, is an instant hit with P. Why would a top tycoon want a socialite who can’t do anything to look after him?
The story begins with Dell living in P’s house. The film is based on a true story, and with two people from completely different walks of life living together, there are bound to be many ludicrous collisions. When Green Book was well received last year, many people compared it to The Untouchables. The same black and white, the same class dichotomy, Green Book takes place in 1960s America at the height of racism in the last century, while The Untouchables is set in a bustling urban building.
Is money everything? For Dell, yes. He gets caught stealing because he has no money, he can’t pay his ex-wife and son alimony, which causes his son to almost disown him, and he almost has to live on the streets because he has no money. So Dell needs money, he needs it more than ever. P, on the other hand, is super rich, richer than even Beyonce’s husband Jay-z, but what’s the point of being rich? His wife is not coming back, he is dependent on that tiny wheelchair for the rest of his life, and he opens his eyes every day to the stares cast by the outside world. It was worse than killing a former business elite who had to live off the sympathy of the people.
So death was a relief, but the cruel thing was that he didn’t even have the choice to die. P chose Dell because he had decided that Dell must be one of those irresponsible jerks who would be able to go to his wife sooner if there was an unexpected situation. But to his surprise, Dell not only takes the job seriously, but also helps P to open his heart. The whole story is very heartwarming, and in contrast to the original version, the American version adds an American touch to many of the details. Although Kevin Hart plays a failed life Loser, he is a good father and goes to work hard to be able to pay for child support.
His height and self-possessed aura make his interactions with P seem “flattering”. The part where he helps P insert a urinary catheter almost makes you pee with laughter. As for P, the rich man played by Lao Bai, he is a man who is serious on the surface but sultry in reality. After the accident, he keeps himself to himself, even though he feels lonely, but never reveals his heart. But Dell sees this and helps P to vent, letting him sit in the passenger seat instead of the “cargo” car and encouraging him to talk directly to the shop assistant when he goes shopping.
Everyone else sees P as a weird old man, as a boss, as a disabled person, but he sees P as a normal person. P has a pen pal and the two of them have been writing to each other for over a year and have developed a deep relationship that goes beyond friendship. But P was always afraid to ask the other person for contact information and to take the initiative to contact them, and it was Dell who eventually encouraged P to meet with the pen pal. P needs companionship, the kind that no friend can give, and Dell understands that what he needs is a confidante. This is one of the biggest points of the American version, which ends at the moment when P meets his pen pal, leaving nothing to be desired.
The American version is a little more realistic, as the pen pal shows up, but excuses himself because he can’t accept the fact that P is paralysed all over and leaves. This is a point of contention, as many feel that the forced adaptation of the American version takes away from the story’s original flavour. But then again, if you haven’t seen the original, watch the American version first, it’s a heart-warming story, but if you have to compare the classics, it’s true that the American version is not as elaborate in its details as the original.
Nicole is an old-fashioned woman, more conservative than P. She is P’s best friend and comes to take care of him when she hears about his accident. At least when the housekeeper appears at P’s side at the end, P’s words “I missed you” are really touching. In fact, whether it’s the original or the American version, it’s not the actors that move people, it’s the strong friendship. Sometimes you have to go into someone else’s world to find out what is missing in your own.
