Even before I had decided to begin this daunting task of conquering the entire Criterion Collection, this movie was well on my radar for two reasons. Firstly, Zach Galifianakis, in an interview with Rolling Stone, noted "Withnail and I" as being the funniest movie he's ever seen. Seeing as how I personally hold every single nuance of Zach as comedic gold, how could I not take his word on it? The second thing that hooked me in was the cover art done by none other than Ralph Steadman, best friend of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson as well as the visual half of the Dr.'s "Gonzo" literature. Between the Zach's recommendation and Steadman's involvement, I couldn't have wanted to see this movie harder. Then, I saw it.
That's not to say that I hated the film. Far from it, actually. I just can't resoundingly say that I am for it, either. The movie takes place in the late 60's with two out of work actors, Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and "I" [Paul Mcgann(and yes, his characer is "I". look in the credits)]*, who are barely scraping by, spending what little they have on booze, and are desperately in need of a change of scenery. As luck would have it, Withnail has a very flamboyant uncle named Monty, portrayed by Richard Griffiths (whom you may know better as Harry Potter's muggle Uncle Vernon. A lot of "uncle" work, this guy),who happens to own a small cottage out in some countryside. So they go, and this is pretty much where the movie actually goes nowhere.
"Seinfeld" was constantly labled a show about nothing, when in actuality there were multitudes of things going on. In the case of "Withnail and I", it really is about absolutely nothing. They get to the cottage, get shitfaced for a bit, Uncle Monty eventually arrives unannounced and makes advances at "I" as he sleeps, "I" gets fed up and wants to return home and manages to get an acting gig along the way. The movie feels like there should be something going on, some bit of soul searching or redemption, anything really. It comes off as merely just a glimpse of two people that have given up on life, one of which still hanging to a thread of hope. It's not really much in the way of a comedy at all, although there are a few choice lines here and there, my favorite being, "I'm preparing myself to forgive you."
I feel like maybe the movie relies on a deeper knowledge of England at that time period so as to be more affecting. Some reviews I have read lend it a comparison to "Fear and Loathing...". with two guys at the end of a swinging time period trying to pick up the pieces and start anew. It does help the film to look at it with those sort of eyes, but I find it not enough for resounding praise. The movie does have a very odd, yet interesting ending involving Hamlet and a pack of wolves, which leaves you feeling like there was more to what you just saw, but not enough to make a return trip. As I often say, though, this is completely my take. The film did decent box office and is apparently quite the cult hit among many, so I would recommend seeing it. I just can't guarantee you'll feel any different than I.
*interesting nerd fact: Both primary actors, Grant and Mcgann, have spent time in the beloved shoes of "Doctor Who". McGann portrayed the 8th doctor in a Doctor Who TV movie in 1996, and retained the moniker up until 2005 when BBC relaunched the series with ninth doctor, Christopher Eccleston. Grant, on the other hand, made some animated web adventures as the ninth doctor in 2003, apparently preparing him to take over as the ninth doctor when the new series began. However once production began, he was not asked to continue on. As such, he is officially known as the "unofficial doctor". If you got all that, you are as hopeless a nerd as I am for writing it.
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