RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Withnail and I
Withnail and I

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Withnail and I (1988)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
96 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:24

Fresh:23

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.3/10

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:07-09-2007

Synopsis: Bruce Robinson's semi-autobiographical account of his early years as an actor has become a cult hit of massive proportions, inspiring countless numbers of young men and women to quote stars Paul... Bruce Robinson's semi-autobiographical account of his early years as an actor has become a cult hit of massive proportions, inspiring countless numbers of young men and women to quote stars Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant and their booze-soaked dialogue. The story follows these two unemployed actors in 1969 London, as they take a holiday in the country. Trapped inside a dank, empty cabin with each other, an endless downpour of heavy rain battering their roof, the two men form a complicated bond fueled by booze, disaster, and nihilism. Though not much happens in terms of plot, WITHNAIL AND I is one of the most subtly hilarious films to come out of 1980's Britain. [More]

Starring: Paul McGann, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown

Starring: Paul McGann, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown

Director: Bruce Robinson

Director: Bruce Robinson

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Withnail and I

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/11/07
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best British comedy ever made? Possibly. A masterpiece? Unquestionably.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/07/07
Ali Catterall
Ali Catterall
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A biting script from writer-director Bruce Robinson and performances from Richard E Grant and Paul McGann as two ‘resting’ actors, Withnail and ‘I’, that neither has surpassed.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A modern classic? A brilliant vignette of a certain time and attitudes? A self-indulgent jeu d’esprit? One thing is certain: Richard E. Grant touched greatness.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
09/07/07
Martin Hoyle
Martin Hoyle
Financial Times

Has any screenplay combined so many quotable lines with such tear-jerking pathos or blatant homophobia?

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
09/07/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Total Film

Grant - a teetotaller - delivers the performance of his life as the doomed thesp, whether it be demanding the "finest wines available to humanity", downing lighter fluid, or feeling like a pig shat in his head.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
11/03/01
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's much funnier, and sadder, watched stone-cold sober.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
09/10/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is at once a coming-of-age comedy and a fond farewell to an era.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
09/08/07
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Best known for launching the underexposed Grant's career. And for being severely overrated.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 3 Comments
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

A hilarious black comedy and already something of a cult favorite.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/10/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
09/02/03
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
David Poland
David Poland
Hot Button

A defining rites-of-passage classic film.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/18/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
06/13/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Arch, smug, exquisitely British, and truly hilarious.

comment Comment
03/11/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

a wonderfully written bit, more literary than cinematic, and the movie chugs forward on the sheer strength of its dialogue and performers

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
08/01/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

No review available.

comment Comment
11/06/03
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Movie Gurus

It's hilarious in a kind of off-beat, sideways sort of manner.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Wonderfully funny, bitterly sad film.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
12/11/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
12/14/02
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Withnail and I

September 12, 2007: Total Recall: Across the Universe And The Beatles On Film
This week, Across the Universe hits theaters. Julie Taymor's film, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess as a young couple in the midst of the heady, chaotic 1960s,... More...

July 30, 2007: Johnny Depp to Take Another Crack at Hunter S. Thompson
It's been a long time coming, but it looks like Johnny Depp will finally get his wish to turn Hunter S. Thompson's "The Rum Diary" into a movie. And of course he'll be playing... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
14% 14% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
19
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
32
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
153
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
56
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
  • Tron Legacy Duo Heading into The Black Hole Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • First Iron Man 2 Poster Released Source: Yahoo! Movies
80
  • Ryan Reynolds Talks Green Lantern Source: MTV
16
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
99
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
96
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
91
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
40
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
38
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
30
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
20
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
5
  • Awards Tour: Annie Nominations, Up and Coraline lead
2
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Withnail and I at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.