17. Withnail And I
HandMade Films
The Drugs: Alcohol, amphetamines, marijuana and, erm, lighter fluid Proving that substance abuse can make for comedy - albeit of the dark and twisted variety - Withnail and I has gone down as a cult classic and it can be argued began the movie drinking game craze. Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and his unnamed companion (Paul McGann) are out of work actors in the midst of a three day binge who decide to talk Withnail's uncle Monty into giving them the key to his cottage so they can escape from London for the weekend. Withnail and I has earned a legendary reputation in the UK which it fully deserves - frequently hilarious, its also a poignant look at how failure leads a person to a kind of hedonistic escapism which only serves to exacerbate the problem even as it seems to alleviate it temporarily. Beneath the excess and extravagant flamboyance of Withnail lies a bitter actor washed up before getting a chance to stand in the limelight, and it's a career high for Richard E. Grant, who was completely teetotal at the time of production. It's also one of those rare films which improves each time you watch it.