SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Brennan Camacho
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Payno
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
grantss
Hilarious British comedy.London, 1969. Two unemployed actors, Withnail (played by Richard E Grant) and Marwood (Paul McGann), are destitute and desperately in need of a change of fortunes. They decide to go on holiday to a cottage in the country. The cottage is owned by Withnail's eccentric uncle, Monty (Richard Griffiths). Things don't go entirely smoothly and get even more complicated when Monty arrives unexpectedly...Incredibly funny, especially the first few scenes - them living in their squalor and having to be resourceful - and the last few scenes - when they're back from the country. Dialogue is great and is delivered perfectly. Richard E Grant's wonderfully over-the-top performance makes the movie. Not that Paul McGann gives a bad performance, he is just more the straight man in the comedy duo and thus his performance is less intense. Any scenes involving Danny the drug dealer (Ralph Brown) are fantastic too.On the negative side, some the situational comedy is a bit cheap and silly. This is particularly so with the ongoing tension between Marwood and Monty. That seemed over-exaggerated and overdone. The third quarter of the movie seemed to drag, due to that.Production values are not that great either. Both video and audio seemed sub-par.
FilmCriticLalitRao
Each national film industry has its own profitable crop of films dubbed as "Cult films". British cinema got lucky in 1987, a year when director Bruce Robinson's autobiographical tale 'Withnail and I' achieved enormous critical success partly due to its highly unusual portrayal of 'artistic angst' of its two young protagonists. Although it was made in 1987, Withnail and I remained too frank in its portrayal of 'drug culture' experienced by youngsters in 1960s. A viewer would simply have to cast a glance at the way all important "drug talk" was depicted in this film. In the last three decades of "British cinema", a handful of films can boast of having a marked presence of "rural Britain".'Withnail and I' turned out to be a major exception to this rule. It showed vast expanses of rural hinterlands where farmers have no difficulties in getting their daily ration of meat and vegetables. Bruce Robinson's film succeeded as it revealed a 'never before seen' facet of poor,ordinary Britons in an honest tale about a journey into 'self exploration' undertaken by two unknown actors. British actors Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann brought more than perfect dignity in their roles as two failed as well as unlucky actors 'Withnail' and 'Marwood'. The film also features a powerful performance by actor Richard Griffiths as an aged homosexual. His performance is so convincing that out of sheer resentment, some intolerant viewers might develop a feeling of homophobia. Lastly, any good actor must be prepared for all times whether bad or good as success is not easy to come. This is precisely why "Withnail and I " questions why some actors are not so lucky. As "Withnail and I" continues to enjoy a cult films status and is available on DVD, it would be a great idea to watch it in order to understand a time when drugs were considered important by youngsters.
freemantle_uk
Comedy is seen as an everlasting stable of the British film industry and British culture in general. There are many great comedies from the nation and one of the most highly regarded films is Bruce Robinson's semi-biographical film, Withnail and I.Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the unnamed "I" (Paul McGann) are two unemployed actors living in a squalid flat in Camden Town, London in 1969. Withnail is highly theatrical alcoholic and I is a more level headed and neurotic personality. Desperate to get away from London, Withnail asks his flamboyant Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) to stay in his cottage in the Lake District. But the pair's friendship is tested, due to the dilapidated conditions of the cottage, horrible wet weather, hostile locals and Monty' s sexual advances towards I.Withnail and I was a big flop when it was first released back in 1987 but found a second life thanks to the home video market and most importantly of all, university film societies. Now, the film is a cult classic, seen as compulsory viewing for any university student who considers themselves a film fan in the UK.There are two key reasons why Withnail and I is such a beloved film, the first being the script (particularly the dialogue) and the performances from Grant and McGann. Withnail and I is very quotable film, filled with witty and hilarious monologues and exchanges between the characters, as they navigate through more farcical situations together.Grant and McGann had a great working relationships, providing plenty of comic energy and had the chemistry the film needed. Grant was able to brings a lot of bravado as Withnail who has a theatrical delivery and attire, while McGann is the straight-man of the pair, yet still provides plenty of laughs. Both actors complemented Robinson's dialogue, enhancing the comedy, while Robinson uses a few visual gags and set pieces to make the audience laugh.Along with Grant and McGann, Withnail and I features a memorable supporting cast of British and Irish actors. The most notable are Griffiths as Uncle Monty, who's always trying get his way with I, yet has some moments of humanity and Danny, the philosophical drug dealer played by Alien 3's Ralph Brown. It is easy to see how Danny was an influence for the character of Super Hans in the sitcom Peep Show (if you have not seen Peep Show you should do so immediately).Withnail and I is not all comedy, it follows the old maxim of 'make them laugh, make them cry'. The friendship between Withnail and I does deteriorate during their holiday and the ending is tender, sombre and respectful towards the characters.Withnail and I is a classic comedy because its fantastically written characters, their dialogue with each other and the performances from the whole cast. There is a great recreation of the 1960′s with a soundtrack featuring the likes of Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.Withnail and I also spawned a drinking game where participants need to copy what Withnail drinks: this features nine and half glasses of red wine, half a pint of cider, two and half shots of gin, six glasses of sherry, thirteen glasses of whisky, half a pint of ale and a shot of lighter fluid. If you try this, you will most certainly need your stomach pumped.
csrothwec
You can admire the acting (especially of Griffiths and Grant; I tended to find McGann more irritating than amusing or enlightening), but that is about it for me, I am afraid and this otherwise had very little to appeal to an oldie like me. I have not got the faintest idea where the "scores of quotable quotes" others have referred to are to be found in the film ("I have had a fee ales" - not really Oscar Wilde, is it?) while I found the 'plot' (thinner than the side of a paper bag used to transport a cup of soup) lacking in any real interest or amusement, let alone insight. As regards the latter, I can only imagine this film would appal to early-/mid-twenty somethings who are in the process of saying good-bye to student life and are beginning to look back on this phase of their lives with nostalgia before having to think about such horrors of post-univ life as getting up at a set time, wearing a suit or trying to get a mortgage. If they enjoy it and find it "a modern British classic", good for them as I doubt, by the same token, they would find much in a film which meant quite a lot to me at their age such as "Electrical Glide in Blue". ("The moving finger writes.....")
