Withnail & I

London. The 1960s. Two unemployed actors—acerbic, elegantly wasted Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the anxiety-ridden “I” (Paul McGann)—drown their frustrations in booze, pills, and lighter fluid. When Withnail’s Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) offers his cottage, they escape the squalor of their city flat for a week in the country. They soon realize they’ve gone on holiday by mistake when their wits—and friendship—are sorely tested by torrential rain, less than hospitable locals, and empty cupboards. An intelligent, superbly acted, and bitingly hilarious black comedy featuring a bounty of quotable lines (“We want the finest wines available to humanity, and we want them here and we want them now!”), Withnail and I is a semi-autobiographical cult favorite from writer/director Bruce Robinson. (Dir. by Bruce Robinson, 1987, UK, 107 mins., Rated R)