The Plot
Withnail (Richard E. Grant)and "I"/Marwood (Paul McGann) are "resting" actors living in London in 1969, whose lives are on a serious downward spiral courtesy of unemployment, alocohol, drugs, and seriously squalid living conditions. Marwood convinces Withnail that they need a holiday in the countryside to recharge their batteries, and Withnail manages to convince his insane Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) to give them the key to his cottage in Penrith. The getaway turns out to be less than idyllic, especially when Monty turns up unannounced to pursue his amourous designs on Marwood. The pair escape back to London to discover that their flat has been invaded by Danny the drug dealer (Ralph Brown) and his enormous friend, Presuming Ed (Eddie Tagoe). Withnail and Marwood's strained friendship seems to come to an end as Marwood leaves London to take up a television role.
Some of the Best Quotes
(Bearing in mind that almost every line is a candidate)
Withnail: That's easy for you to say, lovey, you've had an audition. Why can't I have an audition?
Marwood: Things are tough all over.
Withnail: Bollocks! I haven't seen Gielgud down the labour exchange.
Withnail: We want the finest wines available to humanity. We want them here, and we want them now.
Marwood: We've come on holiday by mistake.
Withnail is about to drink some lighter fluid
Marwood: Please, Withnail, you can't drink that. Even the wankers on the street don't drink that, it's worse than meths!
Withnail: Bollocks! This is a far superior drink to meths. The wankers don't drink it because they can't afford it.
Danny: I don't advise a haircut, man. All hairdressers are in the employment of the government. Hairs are your aerials. They pick up signals from the cosmos, and transmit them directly into the brain. This is the reason bald-headed men are uptight.
Withnail: You can stuff it up your arse for nothing, and fuck off while you're doing it!
Marwood: My thumbs have gone weird!