Rent Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Hunter S. Thompson (book) Terry Gilliam & Tony Grisoni and Tod Davies & Alex Cox (screenplay)
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Craig Bierko, Mark Harmon, Verne Troyer, Penn Jillette, Cameron Diaz, Lyle Lovett, Flea, Gary Busey, Christopher Meloni, Harry Dean Stanton
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.
Verdict
This is a divisive movie. It doesn't have much of a plot as two drug fueled men wreak havoc on Las Vegas. It's not so much funny as grossly ridiculous. The dialog is amazing, marrying the delusion of self importance with the ability to articulate lofty proclamations. The disconnect with reality creates more than a few absolutely gem quotes. What starts as a fun trip continues to grow darker and more alarming, but amidst the chaos Duke talks about the goals of the hippies and where that landed. It's easy to miss among the crazed trips. A dream died and Duke reflects upon it in a city that's a gross exaggeration of America. It's certainly not for everyone, but I enjoy it every time.
It depends.
Review
The movie is such a silly, wild, madcap adventure. It tells you from the top what this is, "a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country." That's from the perspective of Duke (Johnny Depp) and Gonzo (Benicio del Toro), traveling to Las Vegas in altered states. Their angle is always selfish and indulgent. They travel under the guise of journalism, but it's just an excuse for a drug fueled rampage. The entire movie is a conversation with someone incoherent, but it also delves into their mindset, as scattered as it is.
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| Johnny Depp, Tobey Maguire, Benicio del Toro play Raoul Duke, the Hitchhiker, Dr. Gonzo |
That's what makes this so quotable. Everything Duke encounters is an exaggeration of reality and thus his reactions are outsized. When he checks into the hotel, we join him on an acid trip and delve into his mind. His intentions and actions don't match up because he's so out of it. He's tripping in the lobby, surrounded by what he perceives to be reptiles. He's concerned that they're being provided booze, not that they're monsters. Overcome, Duke blurts out concern for the golf shoes which causes everyone to notice him. That is this movie. A normal situation for anyone else is a crazed adventure for someone in an altered state.
I like the sheer ridiculousness of watching these guy in a drug stupor for two hours. That's the entire plot, girded by their false perceptions, delusions, and sheer confidence that entertain. It's a journey through "bat country" that leads to so many quotes made all the better by the delivery. With the very nature of this movie, there are so many ways to do it wrong and quite a narrow window of getting it right. So many things must intersect for a movie to succeed, exponentially more must come together for a movie like this to succeed.
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| Johnny Depp plays Raoul Duke |
It's easy to get lost in the craziness, but Duke expresses a disdain for culture and society. The counterculture 60s gave way corporate greed. Idealism didn't, or couldn't, withstand the harsh realities of business. None of that is better captured in Las Vegas full of excess but empty of any real connection. Duke isn't blameless. He's embracing overindulgence in the very same city. He's self destructive, criticizing a movement that he didn't uphold. You could explore the why. Was Duke a hopeful idealist that become pessimistic and disappointed as he grew older? It's difficult to read too deep into it when there's a distinct veil between us and Duke's thoughts.
We really don't know where hallucination and reality begin and end. We can assume Duke's various encounters are marginally mundane from any other perspective, but you have to wonder if they all even occur. Duke and Gonzo are geniuses in their own minds in a drug fueled escapade. Is their embrace of substances a result of failed naivete? Duke would probably like us to thinks so, but realistically it's his embrace of the over indulgence prevalent in culture exemplified by Las Vegas.
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