The Thin Man (1934)
The Drinking Scene: Nora (Myrna Loy) reveals that she can hold her liquor as well as any man by matching hubbie Nick's (William Powell) drinking glass for glass. Atta girl.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Nora would have shown Nick up by changing the oil on their car while he sits warming his hands in the front seat.
Goodfellas (1990)
The Drinking Scene: Billy Batts (Frank Vincent) has just been sprung out of prison when he bumps into Tommy (Joe Pesci) in a bar. Batts wastes no time drinking "on the house" after attempting to reminisce with Tommy about his days as a shoe-shiner. Which leads to Tommy spectacularly executing him…
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: The booze isn't really as important as the fact that Batts can't keep his mouth shut - if he had, he might still be alive today…
Withnail & I (1987)
The Drinking Scene: "I must have some booze. I demand to have some booze!"
Withnail (Richard Grant) discovers there's no alcohol in the flat, and so decides to try out a little lighter fluid instead. Cue hysterical laughter and not a little retching.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: That's the beauty of this scene - there really is NO BOOZE, which is what forces Withnail to search for creative (and potentially deadly) alternatives.
Rio Bravo (1959)
The Drinking Scene: Legendary boozer Dean Martin plays a drunk in this grubby Western. His penniless deputy sheriff, Dude, is so desperate for a drink that he contemplates fishing a dollar coin out of a spittoon to buy something wet until the sheriff (John Wayne) arrives and stops him…
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: It kind of has to be - the whole point is that Dude's a drunk, and the presence of the booze acts as a reminder of just how tempting it is for him.
Animal House (1978)
The Drinking Scene: "Toga! Toga! Toga!" John Belushi takes centre stage as he and his fellow fratboys throw an Ancient Greece-themed party that includes more booze than we've ever seen EVER. Highlight includes Otter (Tim Matheson) seducing Mrs Wormer and taking her to his room, which comes with its own mini bar.
Of course, there’s also that bit where Belushi downs a bottle of JD in one go…
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: The guys would have sat around discussing politics and the state of the world economy. Because that's what fratboys are like when they're sober, right?
The Social Network (2010)
The Drinking Scene: In one of the best-written scenes of the film (hell, the entire year), Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) meets up with his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara), who unceremoniously dumps him over a beer. Ouch.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: It's arguable that Zuckerberg wouldn't have continued drinking in his dorm room, where he has the idea to create Facemash.
Bridemaids (2011)
The Drinking Scene: A slowly-escalating time bomb of embarrassment, as champagne-swilling bridesmaids Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Helen (Rose Byrne) attempt to up-stage one another in their speeches to bride Lillian (Maya Rudolph).
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Annie and Helen probably can't blame the booze for their embarrassing outpourings - even without the champagne, they'd have made spectacular fools of themselves.
Scream (1996)
The Drinking Scene: Randy (Jamie Kennedy) and his high school buddies sit around the living room at Stu Macher’s (Matthew Lillard) house. While everybody gets wasted on beer, Randy explains the very simple rules you need to survive a horror movie.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: It wouldn't have seemed like a legitimate high school get together. What's a high school party without a keg?
The Graduate (1967)
The Drinking Scene: Only one of the most famous drinking/seduction scenes ever filmed. Ben (Dustin Hoffman) drives home his girlfriend's mother, Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft), where she serves him a drink and then takes off her clothes…
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: The booze is obviously meant to, er, loosen Ben up, but it's also a metaphor for just how intoxicating Mrs Robinson is. Without the booze, it wouldn't work half as well.
Star Wars (1977)
The Drinking Scene: Say hello to Han Solo (Harrison Ford)! The space scoundrel first appears in this film's cantina scene, where he discusses business over a drink as Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) attempts to hire his ship for transportation.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: To be honest, nobody seems particularly interested in drinking - Solo doesn't take a single sip - so this scene would work fine without the booze.
Though we wouldn't mind seeing a drunk Chewbacca…
