Counterpoint: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

The Good: Every review for this movie will always start out "if you’ve ever read the book…" Well, if you ever did and wonder what the movie would be like, this is the film for you.

Johnny Depp is the best Hunter S. Thompson I’ve seen. Not to slight Bill Murray who did a good job in Where The Buffalo Roam, which focuses on some of Thompson’s other writings, but he was Bill playing Hunter where Johnny was Hunter. I’ve seen Hunter in a few interviews and some fucked up documentary thing, so I’ve seen the guy operate and he looks and operates like Johnny portrayed in the movie.

Benicio Del Torro plays a great Dr. Gonzo. This part was played by Peter Boyle in the aforementioned film under the name Lazlo. Again I have to give the award to Fear And Loathing for a real quality performance.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to use hallucinogens on a road trip but were too afraid to ask (or take them yourself), live vicariously through this film as the two attempt to find the American dream.

The Bad: There are many things you can read into when you read Thompson, the kind of way that makes it a problem to make a film. That’s the whole reason why movies haven’t replaced books altogether.

I own the book and even I was lost a couple of times. I think the main point (or one of them anyway) that Thompson was trying to make got lost in the Gonzo activities (some would trivialize them by calling them antics), and the introspective look into America as it was then and what it has become today was lost.

The Bottom Line: A movie for fans of the Doctor’s work. and people that enjoy drugs trips and road trips.

My Rating: 3 Cocktails.