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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Acting: 4/4
Directing: 3/4
Writing: 4/4
Total: 3.5/4
“No need to ‘Fear'. ‘Loathing' is a helluva trip.”
What do you think of when you think of Las Vegas?
Casinos, wonderfully odd shows and $5 lobster are
usually the things that come to mind. But,
according to the team behind the film “Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas” (especially the book's actual
author, the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson), drug
trips featuring giant bats, races in the desert and a
bar full of anthropomorphic lizards are the first
recall. This wonderfully bizarre, hilarious and
confusing film from Terry Gillman has almost all of
the things I have mentioned above. It takes place
in the 1970s, and focuses on a completely
drugged-out Thompson (played with energy and a
grizzly man accent by Johnny Depp) and his
Samoan attorney Dr. Gonzo (the pot-bellied and
crazy Benicio del Toro) as they make their way to
Las Vegas to write a story for the paper Thompson
works for and all of their drug enhanced
misadventures on the way and while in Vegas itself.
Their car is stored with more drugs than Amy
Winehouse can fit in her humongous beehive.
Depp is almost unrecognizable as Thompson, with
whom he lived for a month in order to prepare for
the role. He clearly knows Thompson down to his
fisherman's hat. The role is well suited for Depp, a
master of the eerie and obscene. He plays
Thompson as very paranoid, schizophrenic and
never seen without a cigarette in his mouth. Benicio
del Toro is almost as insane as Gonzo, a very, lets
say, unwise attorney who advises Thompson to buy
a new car and sleaze his way out of paying
for the hotel room. Other notables include Tobey
Maguire, even though he shows up for about 10
minutes of screen time as a blonde hitchhiker the
pair pick up on the Strip and Christina Ricci as a
teenage artist that Gonzo takes an interest in.
Terry Gillman's trademark eerily wonderful touch is
seen all over this film. Thompson's work could not
have been in better hands. Every drug fueled
moment, every pink bathroom scene jumps out
with some sort of magic fueling it. Many
complain that the film is extremely convoluted and
confusing. Well, that's exactly what it wants. It is,
by the way, a comment on the drug culture of the
70s. What did you expectfrom the poster? A road
trip through the French countryside? Right.
Other noteworthy elements include the dialogue,
complete Thompson commentary, the visual
effects, bending the world to Gilliam and
Thompson's likings, the soundtrack, that features a
variety of music ranging from Wayne Newton to
Tom Jones and the screenplay, that has Depp and
del Toro darting around Vegas ever vigilant and
paranoid. But mostly, I highly recommend this film
for the utter uniqueness alone. You will NEVER see
anything quite like it in your life time, so go to
Blockbuster, grab your bat swatter and ether and
enjoy the trip.
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