Withnail and I (1987)
As the dark winter months are softened by our own seasonal excess, it seems only right to raise a glass to Bruce Robinson’s boozy tale of two down-and-out actors struggling with poverty, existential angst and an ill-judged country break in the rain-lashed Cumbrian hills. With Richard E Grant and Paul McGann heading up a very capable cast, Withnail and I continues to be a firm favourite more than three decades since its first release.
As the swinging sixties draw to a close, our anti-heroes begin to wonder if there’s more to life than booze, drugs and waiting for the next acting job, so they flee London’s drizzling grime in search of a simpler, more wholesome slice of life. Alas, what they find is perpetual rain, unfriendly locals and Withnail’s upper crust Uncle Monty lurking in the shadows, hell bent on indulging his own sexual desires far from London society’s prying eyes.
With hugely entertaining characters and a scintillating script, Withnail and I is easily one of the most memorable, hilarious, strangely profound and oddly poignant British films ever made. The mere mention of this movie (especially in a pub) releases a barrage of unsolicited quotes, quips and comebacks that can keep a large group laughing long past closing time.