Cheers! 5 Great Movie Drinking Songs

Nina Hämmerling Smith is Filmcritic.com's features editor.

Don't just lift a pint (or three) in honor of St. Patrick's Day -- gather your buddies and get them singing a little ditty, like one of these favorite movie drinking songs. Then have that pint.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure: "Tequila," the Champs
You've gotta love Pee-wee -- in an inspired effort to save himself after stumbling into a biker bar, knocking over a row of motorcycles, and subsequently incurring the wrath of their owners, Pee-wee has no shame (or fear) in winning over the angry crowd with his oddly focused little bar-top dance to "Tequila."

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings: "Hey Ho
to the Bottle I Go," Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan
Those Hobbits sure do know how to drink. They put a lot away for a little people, and they're always inclined to hop up on a table and deliver a rousing rendition of "Hey Ho". Of course, this is but one of the Hobbits' catchy beer-soaked ditties; "The Green Dragon," which they break into later while surrounded by larger folk and far from home, is a fitting tribute to their beloved Shire beer purveyor.

The Sweetest Thing: "Escape (The Piña Colada Song),"
Rupert Holmes
Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate are stripping off their wet shirts and comparing undies when the perennial Spring Break anthem "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" comes on the car radio. Granted, their singing along is a little painful, but come on -- they're wet, and half-naked. Oh, plus Selma Blair gets it on with a purple elephant in a dressing room. Need we say more?

Jaws: "Show Me the Way to Go Home," Robert Shaw,
Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider
This traditional folk song became the drinking song of choice for legions of college kids after it made a memorable appearance in Jaws. "Show Me the Way to Go Home," sung by the three leads down in the cabin of the Orca, offered a welcome break to the movie's scary and sinister coda. The song has since been featured in countless movies and TV shows, including a Richard Dreyfuss reprise in Piranha 3D.

Days of Wine and Roses: "Days of Wine and Roses,"
Henry Mancini
A different kind of drinking song -- the kind that reminds you that a few may be good, but more isn't necessarily better. The sweeping, bittersweet title track -- which won the 1963 Oscar for Best Original Song -- perfectly scored the Jack Lemmon-Lee Remick movie about the highs and lows of a couple's romance and struggle with their shared alcoholism.

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