Except for the wonderful cheek of Michael Caine, this would be a pretty ordinary movie. The thing is, however, this rake is really a destructive force. These little sex comedies in the Sixties were pretty much for male viewers or fantasizing women. This is the kind of cad who makes promises with no desire to ever commit to anything. His motivations are strictly physical and without direction. And yet, Micael Caine lights up the screen. He is one of those actors who I automatically go to, like Anthony Hopkins or Gene Hackman. I know that even if the script is somewhat lacking, these guys will rise above it.

More swinging '60s London, this time with unrepentant *beep* Michael Caine at the center. Alfie is a shameless philanderer, sleeping with multiple women, some of them married, and narrating his exploits to the audience in asides, referring to the various women as "it"s. Quite a disgusting and unlikable character to center a movie around! Yes, he softens a bit towards the end (a bit), but it's quite hard to not just spend most of the movie despising him. It is, however, a good movie in most ways, and Caine is, unsurprisingly, excellent. The film was popular enough that it received a Best Picture nomination, and Caine received his first Best Actor nomination. Seeing as Shelly Winters is second billed as one of Alfie's more unconventional lovers, I'm shocked that the Academy looked past her (whom the Academy seemed to nominate every time she farted her way into a movie like she does here) and nominated Vivien Merchant for Best Supporting Actress. She plays one of Alfie's married lovers, the one who is forced to go through with an abortion during the film's climax. I'm sure the traumatic event is what got her the nom, because she's honestly unmemorable. Millicent Martin and Jane Asher both give better supporting performances than either Winter or Merchant.

ALFIE is a somewhat dated, but still engaging dramedy, with a star-making performance by Michael Caine. The film is about Alfie, a Cockney ladies' man with commitment issues, and the audience is personally led through his life by him breaking the fourth wall and addressing us directly. This is useful on a couple of levels. First, it is amusing that he can do that without his female companions being any wiser, but it also allows the viewer to connect with him in a much deeper way. As Alfie is a rather unlikeable character, save for a couple scenes where he shows some genuine emotion, the way in which he directly communicates with the audience is key in laying bare the character's motivation, regardless of whether or not you agree with what he does. Early on in the film, there is a sly comedic tone set which carries throughout most of the running time, until it takes a turn for the melodramatic. I didn't particularly like the direction it went, but it did serve a narrative and character-building purpose. I also felt like Alfie's comeuppance was handled rather well. Overall, this was a good movie, though occasionally slightly tedious. Michael Caine's performance is the real draw here. Still, there was a nice soundtrack and closing credits song by Cher. Despite some rather dated morals, I felt that this was a good character study of someone who knows how to make love, but doesn't know how to love.

Alfie is a good movie with a well written storyline and a terrific cast.A lot of people told me that this was a good movie but it was very dated,and to be honest I don't think that's true,the dialogue and the characters personalities is still something that holds up in today's world,I know many people that behave like Alfie and some of the other characters.The movie dosen't really have a story to follow,you're basically just following Alfie as we see him question his lifestyle,but Michael Caine has the like-ability factor for us to be very much able to just follow him around and speak to the audience,which was actually my favourite part of the movie because they pulled off breaking the fourth wall very well.Alfie isn't laugh out loud comedy,but it's funny and also dramatic at times and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good comedy if you ever see it on television. An amoral hedonists series of amorous adventures lead to him realising he is lonely.Best Performance: Michael Caine Worst Performance: Jane Asher