I would never recommend this film for everyone. Some will find it boring, others perplexing (to say the least), still others very stupid. Now me, I've never read the book and what I know of Hunter S. Thompson is from Duke, the Doonesbury character (heavily) based on Thompson. So I can't claim to fully understand the differences between the book and the film. But based on some beautiful lines towards the end of the film, clearly taken verbatim from the book, I would venture to say that the film fails in its inability to do justice to Thompson's writing. Others may say it fails because it's an incoherent mess. What is perceived as incoherent, however, is merely one way of describing the sheer wackiness and paranoia of Thompson's and Dr. Gonzo's drug trips. And most of it is downright funny. (Also downright gross, so be warned.) There are those who were unaware of Johnny Depp's comedic talents before Pirates of the Caribbean. (How could anyone forget Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands?) Depp apparently hung out with the journalist for some time to learn his mannerisms, including his walk and his fashion sense. What you see on screen is a very close approximation of the man himself, disturbingly enough. I would say that the film grew on me after repeat viewings (no, I didn't really watch it repeatedly, just to show some favorite scenes to my husband) and the parts I really liked before were twice as funny the second time. If there could have been a way to make it more prosaic, it would have been brilliant.
year: 1998
length: 118 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120669/combined
Monday, April 04, 2005
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