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Withnail and I Bruce Robinson (1987)  Withnail and I is a hidden treasure. I hadn't heard of the film until two years back when a friend of mine caught part of it at a friends house before insisting we watch it together blind. Am I ever glad we did. It's an insanely quotable period piece about two out of work actors at the end of the 60s. Though made almost twenty years later, the filmmaking makes it feel genuinely from the era. While on holiday by mistake, Withnail and 'I' interact with an unforgettable cast of side characters like strung out Danny the drug dealer (played by Ralph Brown, who basically does the same character again in Wayne's World 2), the flamboyant Uncle Monty, and one rather surly poacher. The film is pretty well aimless slice-of-life until about two thirds in, when...well I've leave that up to the viewers. There's an amazing soundtrack with both original compositions and classics from The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. The former is hardly surprising because George Harrison was an executive producer on the film, the but the latter is apparently why Jimi's music didn't see much use in film for the longest time. The reason I bring the movie up is because it has a lot of themes of change, both social and personal. It also reminds me a bit of The Lighthouse, which I just watched - though despite superficial similarities the movies take different paths. Despite a mostly comedic tone it's pretty bleak but not as bleak as a deleted ending where Withnail kills himself. But if you enjoy a good English romp that doesn't go anywhere, this is your movie.
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Dec 31, 2019 01:36
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I demand to have some booze!
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Dec 31, 2019 07:28
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A local indie theatre here in Toronto does an annual New Year screening as "the only place more desolate than wintry January in Toronto: Withnail and I". I've never seen it but I blind bought tickets for a bunch of friends because it looks like absolutely my thing and I love forcing my friends to watch weird poo poo. Will report back in a week!
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Dec 31, 2019 14:45
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Of course he's the loving farmer!
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Dec 31, 2019 20:32
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Withnail reciting the "What a piece of work is a man" speech at the end is some of my favorite screen acting ever
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Dec 31, 2019 20:33
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So I just wanted to report back that this movie hit me and my friends hard while also being insanely funny. It does an amazing job of capturing that middle class white male louche self-destructiveness where you can make poor decisions for the longest time that only becomes horrifying in those who don't move on from it. It felt timeless and yet very of a time. It could have been filmed in 2009 when we were in our early 20s. The performances and script are amazing, the music slaps, and it is ridiculously quotable. Even the Uncle Monty bits have aged quite well with him coming off more as an abusive man of power than the homophobic stereotype I was warned about. It's a really enioyable movie that captures a very specific vibe of friendship.
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Jan 8, 2020 05:11
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You gotta do the drinking game where you drink along with the characters throughout the film. (I've heard Everclear suggested as an alternative to lighter fluid)
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Jan 8, 2020 19:45
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TrixRabbi posted:You gotta do the drinking game where you drink along with the characters throughout the film. (I've heard Everclear suggested as an alternative to lighter fluid) "nine and a half glasses of red wine, half a pint of cider, one shot of lighter fluid, two and a half shots of gin, six glasses of sherry, thirteen glasses of whisky and half a pint of ale" good god man wouldn't that kill you?
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Jan 14, 2020 22:17
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Vitamin P posted:"nine and a half glasses of red wine, half a pint of cider, one shot of lighter fluid, two and a half shots of gin, six glasses of sherry, thirteen glasses of whisky and half a pint of ale" You'll miss out on Monday but come up smiling Tuesday morning.
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Jan 14, 2020 23:41
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Uncle Boogeyman posted:Withnail reciting the "What a piece of work is a man" speech at the end is some of my favorite screen acting ever  It's amazing.It's an all round incredible film, Withnail's 180 from bravado to abject cowardice in the pub is also one of my favourite film moments. Richard E Grant gives a real masterclass througout tbh 
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Jan 15, 2020 03:04
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This is my favourite movie of all time. Every time you watch it you relate to it in a different way based on how old you are. I was Withnail at uni and became I later on. I'm going to watch it tonight and realise I've turned into Uncle Monty! 
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Jan 15, 2020 05:29
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I've never seen the movie but I've seen the DVD (or vhs?) cover thousands of times for some reason. I feel like it was just always there when i was video shopping in the late 90s.
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Jan 15, 2020 05:48
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There must and shall be aspirin
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Jan 17, 2020 01:27
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So fun fact, Danny the Drug Dealer's actor, Ralph Brown, is the "THERE'S THE BLOCKADE" guy in The Phantom Menace: 
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Jan 18, 2020 15:34
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David Fincher tried to get Richard E Grant for Alien 3 so he could have a Withnail & I reunion on the set but he was unavailable. He did get McGann and Brown though.
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Jan 18, 2020 16:09
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Love this movie. I remember Channel 4 in the UK doing a W&I night and I sat up watching it all. GET IN THE BACK OF THE VAN
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Jan 19, 2020 16:11
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happyhippy posted:GET IN THE BACK OF THE VAN related https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GGc7KcvqtE
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Jan 19, 2020 19:25
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happyhippy posted:Love this movie. I think you'll find it's pronounced "GETINTHEBACK'OTHEVAN!!!!!!!!"
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Jan 19, 2020 20:40
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My favourite story is that because REG is teetotal, and had never drunk before at all, Bruce Robinson had to get him drunk one night before filming started. It was so that he could have the chemical memory of what being drunk, and the resultant hangover, actually felt like. We want the finest wines available to humanity!
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Jan 22, 2020 06:45
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The_Doctor posted:My favourite story is that because REG is teetotal, and had never drunk before at all... ... uh, seems not Wikipedia posted:Grant is a teetotaller. His body has an intolerance of alcohol, having no enzymes in the blood to metabolise it. If he does drink alcohol, he can keep it down for 10 minutes and is then violently sick for 24 hours afterward  The_Doctor posted:...Bruce Robinson had to get him drunk one night before filming started. It was so that he could have the chemical memory of what being drunk, and the resultant hangover, actually felt like. Wikipedia posted:After casting him as the alcoholic Withnail, director Bruce Robinson made Grant drink a bottle of champagne and half a bottle of vodka during the course of a night so that he had experienced the sensation of being drunk.  Imagine the size of his balls. Imagine getting into a fight with the fucker!
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Jan 22, 2020 12:24
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Uncle Boogeyman posted:Withnail reciting the "What a piece of work is a man" speech at the end is some of my favorite screen acting ever Spoilers: https://youtu.be/yif5TIzaPYU If there's any negative to the film perhaps it's the gay panic subplot. Perhaps it's period appropriate that Withnail and the 'I' character would act in that way, but the film never really challenges them, if anything it doubles down with Monty character being so relentlessly predatory "I mean to have you even if it must be burglary"
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Jan 22, 2020 13:13
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The Monty subplot was actually a lot better than I expected since he's played in a very Weinstein-esque sexual predator way using his wealth and power over the characters rather than an "eww gay" way. Robinson's inspiration from Zeffirelli's creepiness really nails that sort of predation. And it's shown to be a product of Withnail lying his rear end off too, making Monty think the other character is available. I mean yes it's a bit uncomfortable at times but for a product of its time it holds up remarkably well.
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Jan 22, 2020 15:07
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It's really interesting you mention that, because Monty was all I could think about when the Kevin Spacey thing came to light, especially with how he tried to shield himself from accusations in an awkward coming out tweet. Being in isolation sure leaves me waking up every morning feeling like the start of this movie!
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Apr 8, 2020 16:44
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The Golden Gael posted:It's really interesting you mention that, because Monty was all I could think about when the Kevin Spacey thing came to light, especially with how he tried to shield himself from accusations in an awkward coming out tweet. quote:We've gone on holiday by mistake.
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Apr 9, 2020 08:11
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I watched this once when I was in university and thought it was over-hyped garbage
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Apr 9, 2020 10:13
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Visible Stink posted:I watched this once when I was in university and thought it was over-hyped garbage quote:These are the sort of windows faces look in at! Edit: removed a pic. Cable Guy fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Apr 9, 2020 |
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Apr 9, 2020 10:24
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Visible Stink posted:I watched this once when I was in university and thought it was over-hyped garbage Cool!
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Apr 9, 2020 12:15
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Cable Guy posted:I demand to have some booze! Liar! You've got anti-freeze!
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Apr 11, 2021 11:57
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A double bill of this and Naked would be a good night for an alcohol induced coma
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Apr 11, 2021 15:59
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Simone Magus posted:A double bill of this and Naked would be a good night for an alcohol induced coma Make a drinking game out of taking a shot every time alcohol is consumed on screen.
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Jun 15, 2021 17:14
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Vincent posted:Make a drinking game out of taking a shot every time alcohol is consumed on screen. The Withnail & I drinking game I've seen looks sort of lethal (matching them drink for drink exactly) Mouthful of red wine "Lighter fluid" (eg overproof rum) Double gin Finger of cider (with ice) Finger of cider (with ice) Finger of cider (with ice) Glass of sherry Two big chugs of sherry Mouthful of sherry Sip of sherry Double whisky Mouthful of whisky Mouthful of whisky Mouthful of whisky Mouthful of whisky Splash of whisky Single Teachers Double Teachers Double Teachers Single Teachers Sip of sherry Three fingers of ale Sip of red wine Gulp of sherry Small glass of red wine Sip of red wine Half glass of red wine Sip of Pernod Sip of red wine Sip of red wine Gulp of red wine Gulp of red wine Finger of red wine Finger of red wine Gulp of red wine ("'53 Margeaux") Gulp of red wine ("'53 Margeaux") Gulp of red wine ("'53 Margeaux") Gulp of red wine ("'53 Margeaux")
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Jun 17, 2021 11:40
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