Richard E. Grant

Saltburn review

A twisted tale of homoerotic desire.

How Withnail & I went from cult to classic

The inside story of Bruce Robinson's beloved movie - and its darker take on the 60s - as a new book is released that will please fans hungry for more Withnail lore.

Saltburn review

'Lurid' comedy skewers Britain's super-rich.

Saltburn review

Emerald Fennell's latest is a deliciously twisty tale of grotesque overprivilege.

Saltburn review

Hot Brideshead soup needs more seasoning.

Withnail And I: How a Beatle-funded comedy about alcoholic actors became a cult classic

The boozy British comedy classic was produced by Beatle George Harrison and made stars out of Richard E Grant and Paul McGann, but its initial cinema release went almost unnoticed. Nick Duerden looks at the film's chequered road to cult status.

Off Menu Podcast With Ed Gamble & James Acaster: the best episodes

Comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster on the Off Menu podcast are especially good company because they're funny gluttons.

It's not every day you get to see Christopher Walken ambling about a community project in Bristol. What next: Joe Pesci chugging in Birmingham's Bullring? New BBC One six-part dramedy The Outlaws, starring, co-written and directed by Bristolian Stephen Merchant (The Office; Extras; Hello Ladies), certainly hasn't stinted on casting: Dolly Wells, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, with Claes Bang and Richard E Grant to come. The premise is that seven small-fry lawbreakers are thrown together to renovate a building as community service in Bristol. So far, so aged-up, earthbound Misfits. Rani, "studious Asian good girl" turned shoplifter, played by Rhianne Barreto, observes: "Everyone's a type: rightwing blowhard, leftwing militant, celebutante, shifty old timer." There's also Merchant as a dweeb solicitor, and Jessica Gunning as an officious overseer, who is inevitably reminiscent of Gareth from The Office, with an added soupçon of civic authority.

I'd wondered if Walken's Hollywood star power would swamp things, but in the overstuffed opener his rogue barely gets a look-in. While some jokes worked, others didn't: one about "working harder than a prostitute with two mattresses" was Jeremy Clarkson-worthy (and no, making it come out of Walken's mouth doesn't make it any funnier). When another (unconnected) sex worker theme pops up in the second episode (both are available), it starts feeling borderline creepy.

Merchant has forged his own path since working with Ricky Gervais, but in The Outlaws opener, too many genres are crudely bolted together: comedy, crime, heartwarming drama, a bizarre segue into gangland Top Boy territory. The second episode, though, is a significant (funnier, tighter) improvement. I'll be sticking around, not least for Walken's Transylvanian mini-break of a face incongruously bobbing around the Bristol environs.

The Outlaws review

Star-studded Stephen Merchant series is Walken in a cringe comedy wonderland.