Top 10 Sloppiest Movie Drunks

“We want the finest wines available to humanity! We want them here and we want them now,” demands Withnail of a scandalized tea-shop owner, his Eton accent belying his shabby appearance. The down-and-out Withnail is an outrageous foil to his stoic friend and flatmate Marwood in this British cult comedy. Too drunk and too arrogant to be employable, Withnail spends his time scrounging up money for ales and shots of whiskey or taking advantage of his lonely, eccentric uncle Monty, who keeps “a sensational cellar.” Though much of Withnail’s drinking is louche and quite funny — he pilfers a ’53 Margaux from Monty’s stash and then swigs from it on the street, like a common wino — the film also delves into darker aspects of alcoholism. In one memorable scene, out of money and out of booze, Withnail desperately takes a swig of lighter fluid. This scene was lifted directly from the experience of writer-director Bruce Robinson, who lived with a profligate drunk, actor Vivian MacKerrell. In the movie, Withnail drinks the fluid, screams and then gets himself ready for dinner. In real life, MacKerrell reportedly went temporarily blind.