Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (1998) - PuRock's Finest Flicks

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Director:  Terry Gilliam
IMDB Rating:  7.7 (12/30/13)
PuRock's Rating:  10 suitcases filled with......(Out of 10)
If this film had a Father:  Where the Buffalo Roam

Pros:  Flashy, Wild Ride, Interesting Performances, Sound Track
Cons:  (I Plead the 5th)

"I feel a bit lightheaded.  Maybe you should drive."

In 1998, Terry Gilliam directed a wild ride of a film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  Johnny Depp starred as the prolific Hunter S Thompson and Benecio Del Toro as the ever-so-charming Dr. Gonzo. Idolizing Thompson and becoming good friends, helped Depp learn Thompson's mannerisms.  One could argue that this is just another role for Depp where he utilizes what we'll call here 'Jack Sparrow' acting (even though this film is before the Pirates franchise).  It worked in Pirates and it works perfectly here.  How else would a crazed man hopped up on drugs & alcohol act?  God forbid, you give him a gun.

There he goes.  One of God's own prototypes.  A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production.  Too weird to live, and too rare to die. 

Hunter S. Thompson is a unique persona in America's history.  This film is a biography of him.  It doesn't go from point A to point B like most conventional biopics, but it does encapsulate him perfectly.  The randomness, the wild ride, the 'whats-the-point', and the drugs all play a part into who Hunter Thompson was.  The film, much like Thompson's books, meanders from start to finish ala Gonzo style.

Then there are many who think this film has no point or direction, but I kindly disagree.  This is the end of an era in history.  This is the examination of the cliff that the drugs, sex, and music brought a culture to.  The film doesn't flaunt this as a driving force throughout the entire film, but its there in the back drop.   The most poignant part of this social commentary and be found in the below quote from the film:

The kind of peak that never comes again......no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time in the world.

Personally, I love this film.  I remember looking up Roger Ebert's review of this film only to see ONE STAR staring back at me.  I felt like Ralphie from A Christmas Story, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid."  Well maybe I did shoot my eye out and it made me want to buy more tickets for the ride.