Bruce Robinson and Richard E. Grant double bill

Bruce Robinson and Richard E. Grant double bill
Withnail and I(1987), and How to get Ahead in Advertising(1989)

Pretty much by accident I ended up watching this pairing at the weekend, and found it pretty interesting seeing them back to back. Both are directed by Robinson, and both star Grant, made within two years of each other in England in the mid-late 80s.
If you’ve seen Withnail and I before, then it needs no introduction. It’s one of my favourite films, and possibly the funniest film I’ve ever seen. No faint praise, and it’s power is that I’m sure most people who’ve also seen it will agree with me, and also, think that they’re the only person who it speaks to personally. If you haven’t, you should order the three disc edition off of Amazon.co.uk immediately and wait for your life to improve drastically in the near future. I saw it for the first time in probably the perfect environment of having just gone to college. Not only does it resonate to every student whose ever worn old, decade defying clothes( and I certainly did, working at a store called Wear it again Sam, taking old suits in lieu of pay, and slicking my long hair back, drunk anything they can get they’re hands on in obscene quantities, lived in a complete dive, not really eaten much apart from toast- all the better for spending on fags and booze, and never had any money, but it also shows that last sliver of life before responsibilities take over. When the most important question is, when does the pub open? and the most important person in your life is not a partner( as Robinson said in an interview, there are no women in the film because when your poor, you know there’s no point trying to get one), but a friend. I could write reams on why Withnail works so well, the superb script with its endlessly quotable lines, the fantastic soundtrack, both in choice and scarcity of songs- young directors take note, you don’t need to over egg the pudding, the great original music, the photography, the four fantastic leads with Grant the standout, and also brilliantly memorable supporting cast- you remember the Coalman, the police, Jakes etc, even though they’re barely on screen, and the fact that while being hilariously, liquid flying out of your nose funny, its also heartbreakingly sad. It’s the end of a heterosexual love affair, with Withnail the dysfunctional(to put it mildly) father, to I’s protective and thoughtful mother. Neither are gay, although you could argue Withnail is, but doesn’t realize it, compared to Uncle Monty’s outrageous all embracing(at least he tries)camp, but this is about three men who care about each other but are also unable to express it and are growing apart in what they want from life. It’s also about Withnail who mainly only cares about himself, which makes it so funny. As soon as I (or Marwood for trivia fans), gets the phone call to say he’s got the part in the play, if not before when the seeds are sown by his audition and willingness to move away, time is running out for this friendship. As Danny says, probably the most succinct line, to sum up proceedings, ‘they’re selling hippie wigs in Woolworths, the greatest decade in history is over and we have failed to paint it black.’It reminds me of the end of college when you realize that the person who you’ve had all of those adventures with for years, isn’t going to be there anymore, and even if they were, it just wouldn’t be the same because everyone has to act sensible now. Withnail is an ode to all of those lost friendships that burnt so bright at the time but were snuffed out so permanently.
How to get Ahead in Advertising at first glance is a completely different kettle of fish. I didn’t manage to see this until later in my life, and again the timing was probably very good, as it’s not just concentrating on the I(sic) as much as on issues that effect all of us globally. It has an adult message.One of the main criticisms that the films has been hit with is that it lets its political message run amock and swamp the story, but I don’t agree with this. It may be an allegory of the difference between materialist and socialist mentality, between greedy consumer society and those who want to preserve and reuse what has always worked, and indeed recycle, and the hypocrisy when the two meet, but its done in such a manic and perverse style that I was hooked throughout. It also starts and ends with two monologues flawlessly performed by Grant any bit as good as anything from Withnail. It’s just that as a whole the film is harder to like. The politics of Withnail-‘shovelled up by Labour, shat on by Tories,’ and darkness-‘I have of late-but wherefore I know not ,lost all my mirth,’ are pushed harder and not just hinted at. Also, it’s end is much more abrupt than Withnail making it feel curiously unfinished, and is also even more ambiguous. It’s certainly not a happy ending but still shows hope in the future, if a muted hope. The supporting cast, Richard Wilson, Rachel Ward, and even a young Tony Slattery play it for realism more than Withnail’s grotesques, but its Grant who manages to find even deeper recesses of manic frenzy to tap into. Many criticize him for always going over the top, but in both of these parts, he gives the audience two fantastic but subtly different performances. Robinson too, freed from Withnail’s mainly static environment shows his growth in some wonderful shots, I was particularly struck by Grant’s collapse onto the floor with bathroom jars smashing around him, and later a long bird’s eye shot of him on horseback, next to a wood so beautiful that these days it would have to be CGI. I recommend both of these films for a look by anyone who likes their laughs to come with a rabid bite. Lets hope Robinson and Grant work together again one day as briefly they were the Scorcese/De Niro of English comedy, and these films although sturdy cult successes deserve a lot more time in the sun. Withnail 10/10 Advertising 8/10