A six-pack for St. Patty's Day

On this lovely St. Patrick's Day, the official holiday of the 80s, allow me to make a toast:

May your big-screen TV never break down on TBS's Big 80s Weekend, especially during "Red Dawn." May your old VHS player never eat the only copy of "Compromising Positions" left in the world. May you never be ashamed to do the "Thriller" dance alone at the office Christmas party. And more importantly, may your 80s heroes never grow old.

Lastly, may you never forget to raise your glass when one of these movies comes on.

A SIX-PACK OF THE GREATEST DRINKING MOVIES OF THE 80s:

6. ABOUT LAST NIGHT: (1986) Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Jim Belushi. What they're drinking: Beer, straight from the keg. "Oh, aren't we a couple of sluts?"

5. MY FAVORITE YEAR (1982): Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker. What they're drinking: Anything you can put in a flask. "Ladies are unwell ... Gentlemen vomit."

4. COCKTAIL (1988): Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown. What they're drinking: Red Eye, beer, frothy rum drinks. "Beer is for breakfast around here. Drink or be gone!"

3. STRANGE BREW (1983): Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis. What they're drinking: A "two-four" of Elsinore Beer. "This movie was shot in 3B - three beers - and it looks good, eh?"

2. ARTHUR (1981): Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli. What they're drinking: Martinis, scotch. "I've taken the liberty of anticipating your condition. I have brought you orange juice, coffee, and aspirins. Or do you need to throw up? "

1. BARFLY (1987): Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway. What they're drinking: Everything. "Listen, I drink. And when I drink, I move in the wrong direction... "

Outside the 80s: Beer Fest, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Leaving Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Animal House, Old School, Bad Santa, Sideways, The Big Lebowski, Swingers, Casablanca, The Legend of Drunken Master, Baseketball.

Comments

[Marissa]

The Chicago Fox station is doing live coverage from Timothy O'Toole's Bar ... at 7am they are drinking green beer and doing the Irish Jig. Ah, the bagpipes just started playing. They are serving Guiness French Toast for b-fast.

[jane]

Great list. Even better subject.

Love Sideways: "If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any f@#&*$(# Merlot! "

And Arthur. SO great. I oft use this quote when anyone announces they're about to do something mundane:
"Do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to take a bath."
"I'll alert the media."
"Do you want to run my bath for me?"
"It's what I live for."

Must chime in about adding The Thin Man to the list of non-'80 films. Nick and Nora could put it away -- and were oh-so-charming and witty and stylish while they did it.

[Marissa]

I should mention the singular saving grace for "About Last Night ..." JIM BELUSHI. I was never one for pretty boy Rob Lowe.

[jane]

PS: Wow. Compromising Positions. Haven't thought about that movie in years. Saw it in the theatre back in the day -- I was in a Raul Julia phase after seeing Kiss of the Spider Woman. I wouldn't mind seeing this one again.

[Marissa]

I read the book "Compromising Positions" by Susan Isaacs, but I don't think I've seen the flick. The book is just a distant memory now.

[Darren...]

Best line from Authur:

"Would you like me to wash your di@$ too, you little sh&%"

[Darren...]

Best line from Arthur:

"Would you like me to wash your di@$ too, you little sh&%"

[Spears]

Choosing a favorite line from Arthur is tough.

But since I'm up for the challenge:

5. "I race cars, play tennis, and fondle women, BUT! I have weekends off, and I am my own boss."

4. "You must've hated this moose."

3. "You're a hooker? Jesus, I forgot! I just thought I was doing GREAT with you!"

2. "Not all of us who drink are poets. Some of us drink because we're not poets."

1. And yeah, Darren's right: "Would you like me to wash your di@$ too, you little sh&%"

[jane]

Now see, y'all's favorite line is part of my little Arthur tête à tête, albeit one that I don't usually include. It's a great payoff line, I'll give you that.

[Eric62]

This is the one movie my wife will quote from. And at the risk of sounding like a film dork, my favorite visual is when Arthur and Susan are having dinner: on her entree plate is a fish. On his, a glass of scotch.

[jane]

Sir John Gielgud rocks this movie.

Hobson: "Thrilling to meet you, Gloria."
Gloria: "Hi."
Hobson: "You obviously have a wonderful economy with words, Gloria. I look forward to your next syllable with great eagerness!"

I think I may have to watch this one tonight -- it's been way too long between viewings.

Well put, Jane.

As hilarious as Arthur is, Gielgud as Hobson just kills. I've used this in public (perhaps once too often at Wal-Mart?): "One usually meets women of your caliber in a bowling alley.''

[DoctorDrew]

One of my favs from Arthur.

Hobson, do you know what the worst thing is about being me?
I should imagine your breath.

Or. . .
Good afternoon. If you and your undershirt will take two paces backwards, I could enter this dwelling.

Hobson kills me.

[Jeff in Cuba]

As long as were waxing nostalgic about tipsy rich people, let's not forget Kate Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart's drunken dip in 'Philadelphia Story'.

Stone cold classic.

[Clark]

Was Arthur the last of the Charming Drunks, a species that once thrived in American cinema but has since been wiped out by the ravages of PC? I think so.

[tev]

My favorite quotes from Arthur:

Burt:"I don't drink because drinking affects your decision-making."

Arthur: "You may be right. I can't decide."

And

Susan: "A real woman could stop you from drinking."
Arthur: "It'd have to be a real BIG woman"

[Walter Cox]

Great! Now I have to watch "Arthur" so I know what everybody else is talking about. Let me see if I can hit my Netflix queue before "One Upon A Time in the West" gets back to them....

....and Liza Minelli better not flashburn my retinas.

[Clark]

Walter, considering it's a romantic comedy featuring a theme song by Christopher Cross with Liza Minelli as the female love interest, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[jane]

Clark, I think you're right about Arthur being the last of the Charming Drunks (aside from me, natch.)

The bar was set early on with William Powell/Nick Charles, as far as I'm concerned:
"The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time." Now that's poetry.

[Eric62]

Now that the Arthur thing has run its course through the day, I really wanted to back the No. 5 film here. "My Favorite Year'' is the kind of movie that might not be made any more -- quietly amusing and genuinely entertaining, with a drunk as a lede. It doesnt have that Jim Carrey over the top comedy, nor does it rely on Industrial Light and Magic for its plot, nor does it rely on mega-Dolby surroundsound to make its point. Just a nice, well-acted movie about a drunken movie star who has never faced a live audience.

[Clark]

Good call, Eric. You can't go wrong with Peter O'Toole. Never pass up an opportunity to listen to interviews with him or Richard Harris, especially when they involve drinking stories about each other.