Gallery: Drinking About Movies: The Best Boozers in Film
01the-rum-diary
In *The Rum Diary*, Johnny Depp takes another stab at playing a substance-abusing Hunter S. Thompson character. He's pretty damn good at it by this point — it seems Depp has mastered the art of the likable drunkard. This time around, Depp plays Paul Kemp, a journalist who travels to Puerto Rico in hopes of doing some hard-hitting journalism. What he finds, however, is rampant corruption and a bunch of newspapermen who enjoy shots more than they enjoy scoops. Being a friend of Captain Morgan himself, Kemp joins in the merriment, but continues his reporting pursuits as well. Needless to say, things go awry — the film is based on a novel by famously intoxicated gonzo journalist Thompson, after all. We won't spoil it, but suffice to say Kemp goes after his man (Sanderson, played by Aaron Eckhart) and almost gets more than he can handle (including the girl, played by Amber Heard). What's amazing about watching *Rum Diary*, based on a script that director Bruce Robinson [reportedly resumed drinking to write](http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/bruce-robinson-i-started-drinking-again-because-of-the-rum-diary-2216721.html), isn't the shenanigans that ensue; it's that Depp has found yet another way to play a boozer. From his previous Thompson character — Raoul Duke in *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* — to [Captain Jack Sparrow](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0001274/) in the *Pirates of the Caribbean* movies, he has portrayed a series of addled characters, each one wholly unique. But Depp hasn't cornered the market on the loveable lushes of cinema. Actors from Tom Hanks to Mickey Rourke have tackled a boozy boss or a drinker-with-writing-problems character at some point in their lives. To get a handle on cinema's best drunkards, we've compiled a list of our favorites in the gallery above. (An honorable mention that didn't make the list: Giovanni Ribisi's turn as Moburg in *The Rum Diary*, for which he deserves major kudos, and probably a bottle of rum.) [*The Rum Diary*](http://www.rumdiarythemovie.com/), rated R for language, brief drug use and sexuality, hits theaters Friday. *Thanks to AMC's [Filmcritic.com](http://www.filmcritic.com/features/2008/12/the-21-best-movie-alcoholics-of-all-time/) and [Booze Movies](http://www.boozemovies.com/)*. __Above:__ Paul Kemp in *The Rum Diary* ---------------------------- This Depp performance is just the latest sauced insouciant the actor has brought to life.
02a-league-of-their-own
Jimmy Dugan in *A League of Their Own* (1992) ----------------------------------------------- Only a guy as well liked as Tom Hanks could pull off this role. He's cruel to his ballplayers and signs baseballs for kids with, "Avoid the clap. Jimmy Dugan." He sobers up by the end of the film, but not before uttering one of the most-quoted movie lines ever: "There's no crying in baseball!"
03bad-santa
Willie T. Soke in *Bad Santa* (2003) ------------------------------------ Drunks in bars are one thing. Drunks ruining Christmas for tons of shopping-center children is something else entirely. But that's what Billy Bob Thornton does with abandon in this Grinch-with-a-bottle film. Watch it sometime after New Year's.
04cocktail
Brian Flanagan in *Cocktail* (1988) ----------------------------------- Remember when Tom Cruise was *this guy*? Getting up on the bar with a bottle of Jim Beam to give that "last barman poet" speech, instead of getting on Oprah's couch to bounce all over the place? He really made us want a drink.
05animal-house
John Blutarsky in *Animal House* (1978) --------------------------------------- Every kid who attended college has the image of John Belushi downing a bottle of Jack Daniel's in this film permanently emblazoned in their minds. His performance should've served as a warning against binge-drinking, but honestly it was just too funny to take that seriously.
06leaving-las-vegas
Ben Sanderson in *Leaving Las Vegas* (1995) ------------------------------------------- Don't let the trailer fool you: Nicolas Cage's portrayal of Ben Sanderson in this film does not make going to Las Vegas to drink oneself to death look fun. It does, miraculously, make it look heartfelt.
07sideways
Miles in *Sideways* (2004) --------------------------- There are so many things to love about Paul Giamatti's performance as not-quite-successful-writer Miles in this buddy film set in California's wine country. But really, what the world at large has to thank wine-connoisseur Miles for is his strict "No Merlot" policy.
08strange-brew
Bob McKenzie in *Strange Brew* (1983) --------------------------------------- This film is less about two men's quest for brewskis than it is about hearing Rick Moranis do his Canadian accent, eh? The quest for beers is pretty good too, though.
09the-big-lebowski-2
The Dude in *The Big Lebowski* (1998) -------------------------------------- OK, so the Dude was also kind of a stoner, but his love of [white Russians](http://www.thedudeiseverywhere.com/?page_id=10) still puts him in prime position for this list. Besides, this cult classic has such a brilliant performance from Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey Lebowski that we might've let it slide even if he barely touched a drink.
10barfly
Henry Chinaski in *Barfly* (1987) ----------------------------------- Mickey Rourke's performance in *Barfly* is to Charles Bukowski what Johnny Depp's performance in *The Rum Diary* is to Hunter S. Thompson. They're homages to the great, drunken authors (Bukowski wrote the screenplay for *Barfly*, Thompson wrote the novel *The Rum Diary*). And they're also imitations of the writer's personalities. Down to the last drop.
