I remember the appeal of the original Alfie was its depiction of swinging London, which seemed intriguing and naughty in the mid-60's, with all the British accents and mod outfits. When they Americanized the latest version, it's like, yawn.
I teach in L.A., and after school I was walking up Sunset toward the bus stop (my car was on the blink) and there was this fellow standing outside a movie theater with a clip board. He asked me if I'd like to see a movie for free. I said "SURE!" and that was it. He signed me up, gave me a bulletin with the where & when information, and a week later I was down on... I think it was Melrose... in line with a bunch of other people.
After the movie was over, I was one of the last ones to leave because I was writing up and down the margins of my feedback form (I do so love to give advice, you see.) When I finally came out, only about 20 people were still milling about, and one of them actually was Jude Law. Really, I have nothing bad to say about him, he seems a handsome, charming enough fellow. Almost pretty, polite enough...
But yeah, the movie had no clear message. I've noticed that about Hollywood, the message to women is usually, "Don't settle for anything less than true love and searing passion." The message to men is usually, "All these nice women and you can't just pick one and settle down? What are you holding out for? What, no one's good enough for you? Putz!!"