Enjoying The Dude

[Carvill John]

The real magic of Withnail is that the writer/director Bruce Robinson's sheer love of language comes through in every scene. There are no ad libs or anything like that, every nuance is tightly scripted. And of course the performances are fantastic. A once in a generation cultural event, Withnail.


It is thought of as a 'druggy' film, but there is not much overt drug usage. Having said that, teh film does open with someone having a freak out.


Withnail was very much under-appreciated when it came out, it became a big word of mouth film, most people (including me) having heard about it for quite a while before actually getting to see it - I well recall trudging around video shops in the late 1980s asking for it and being met with blank bemusement.


Much as I love Lebowski, it isn't a patch on Withnail. If you do enjoy Withnail, I recommend Bruce Robinson's book 'Smoking in Bed' which is basically a bunch of extended interviews. He's a fascinating person, probably the Greatest Living Englishman.

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> Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2009 01:20:25 -0400
> Subject: Re: Enjoying The Dude
> From: michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>
> on your recommendation (in the "stoner movies" thread)
> I watched "Withnail and I" a couple years ago,
> a few times. I found it excellent and enjoyable. Watching it as a middle-aged
> guy for the first time, I didn't "bond" with it, perhaps -
> but it was very good. The homo theme, exploring the boundaries
> between close friendship and something more, is way, WAY bigger than
> perhaps anything else in the movie... (I thought it was going to be a
> stoner movie...)
> and although I incline toward the "I" guy's life choices and
> mindset, you couldn't help feeling for old Withnail and his uncle...
>
>> Last night I watched 'Body & Soul' with John Garfield. Now *that* is a great film.
>>
>
> already halfway to putting that on my Netflix list, now I've done it
>
>
>
> --
> "My God, I am fully in favor of a little leeway or the damnable jig is
> up! " - Hapworth Glass

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