Withnail and I (1987)

 

Withnail and I

Doper buddies on adventures is a bit of a movie trope. Whether it be “Trainspotting”, “Up in Smoke” or “Harold and Kumar... xyz” they follow a certain pattern. The dopers are pretty messed up, they get into crazy stuff that works for comedy and they get into some shit, partly from substance abuse and partly because they have problems taking responsibility for their lives, that either is, or could potentially be, very tragic. “Withnail and I” falls squarely in the middle of that trope.

Withnail and I are also the labels of the two main characters of “Withnail and I”. Withnail (Richard E. Grant) comes of a rich family, but slums it in Camden under a pretence at aiming to become an actor, but actually avoiding any kind of responsibility while drinking, smoking and doping his life away. “I” (Paul McGann) is Withnail’s unnamed roommate and occasional narrator of the movie. He may be slightly less wasted than Withnail and may take a bit more responsibility but is also prone to a very nervous disposition. We are in 1969 and there is a sense that this may be “I” looking back at his life back then.

They live in squalor, none of them are getting any acting jobs and “I” suggests they leave town. Withnail has a rich uncle, Monty (Richard Griffiths), with a cottage in the Lake District, so they go there to get him to lend it to them. Monty, extrovertly homosexual, has an eye on “I” so they get the key and go there.

The majority of the movie takes place in and around the cottage and this is also scene for most of the comedy. These two bozos are completely unequipped for life in the countryside and their blundering about result in one absurd situation after the other. Cooking a hen in a tea kettle, fishing with a shotgun or getting chased by a bull all works because of the almost alternative reality these dopers live in. When Monty shows up at the cottage and starts hitting on “I”, the trip gets a notch wilder and more absurd.

“Withnail and I” is sometimes described as plotless, but that is not the case at all. It is the classic doper-buddy plot where the leads are floating around in their outwardly fun but actually miserable lives, then goes on an adventure that may or may not make them move on in their lives. “I” uses the experience as a wake-up call and breaks with this lifestyle while “Withnail” is way too cowardly to look up from his self-imposed exile from reality and responsibility.

Yet, this is not a moralistic tale. It is far to busy having fun with Withnail and I for that. Sure, there are consequences to the liberties they take, even if Withnail often get away with his stunts, but even the consequences are often milked for comedy, such as Withnail getting arrested for drunk driving, then caught trying to use a crazy device to supply a clean urine sample. This is also a British, very British movie meaning that no matter how absurd the situation, it is always grounded in a British reality that makes it all believable and to an extend, relatable. Unfortunately, it also means that some of the comedy may only be picked up by fellow Brits. My copy was not texted, and I found myself occasionally lost.

“Withnail and I” is an okay movie and decently fun, but it is neither as outrageous nor as powerful as the best in this genre. We can clearly sense that especially Withnail is a lost case who will get nowhere, but we are not talking “Trainspotting” crisis, nor does the idiotic stupor lead to the mad scenes of “Up in Smoke” or “Harold and Kumar goes to White Castle”. In that sense “Withnail and I” is almost too cozy. Fending off the lusty uncle Monty is the level of danger “I” experiences, beside the threat of being stuck in a lifestyle that would eventually eat him up.

This is why I found “Withnail and I” a decent but unexceptional watch. I guess I expected more from it. It does deliver, but does it deliver enough?