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Storyline
London 1969 - two 'resting' (unemployed and unemployable) actors, Withnail and Marwood, fed up with damp, cold, piles of washing-up, mad drug dealers and psychotic Irishmen, decide to leave their squalid Camden flat for an idyllic holiday in the countryside, courtesy of Withnail's uncle Monty's country cottage. But when they get there, it rains non-stop, there's no food, and their basic survival skills turn out to be somewhat limited. Matters are not helped by the arrival of Uncle Monty, who shows an uncomfortably keen interest in Marwood... Written by
Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>
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Taglines:
If you don't remember the sixties, don't worry - neither did they.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Richard E. Grant was hired on the proviso that he lost weight. Ironically he had just been trying to gain some weight through working out because he thought was too skinny. He went on a diet of protein shakes to achieve his gaunt look in the film.
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Goofs
When Marwood is seen knocking at the Penrith cottage door looking for the farmer, there is a distinctive black coal bucket outside. When the camera pans out before he leaves, the coal bucket is no longer there.
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Quotes
Marwood:
Don't vent spleen on me, I'm in the same boat!
Withnail:
Stop saying that! You're not in the same boat. The only thing you're in that I've been in is this fucking bath!
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Connections
Referenced in
Room 101: Episode #10.5 (2005)
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Soundtracks
"Hang Out the Stars in Indiana"
Performed by
Al Bowlly
Music by
Harry M. Woods
Lyrics by
Billy Moll
Published by Peter Morris Music Co. Ltd.
Original Sound Recording made by EMI Records Ltd.
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Richard E Grant is simply perfect as Withnail, the addled but undoubtedly well-equipped "actor" on holiday with his pal, the "I" in the title. His soliloquy from Hamlet in the final scene is one of the best readings of that scene anyone's done in film. This is a film with a point, and a great way of avoiding making it too emphatically. I love every character, and every line. When Withnail frantically searches for antifreeze after drinking lighter fluid in a crazed attempt to become drunk, "I" says, "Everyone knows you shouldn't mix your drink!" Superb!