Rating: R
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 11/17/1998
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DDS
Run Time: 119 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity, Substance Abuse
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
Terry Gilliam (
Brazil,
Twelve Monkeys,
The Fisher King) directed this colorful, stylized, pseudo-psychedelic $21-million adaptation of the 1971
Hunter S. Thompson classic,
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream, about stoned sportswriter Raoul Duke,
Thompson's alter ego, on a wild drug-crazed road trip, a paranoid plummet into the belly of the beast, with his pal, lawyer Oscar Zeta Acosta. Originally serialized in
Rolling Stone (November 1971), the book catapulted
Thompson headfirst toward the
Kerouac-
Mailer-
Capote pantheon and jump-started the entire movement of "gonzo journalism." Carrying a suitcase of drugs, Raoul Duke (
Johnny Depp with shaved pate) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (
Benicio Del Toro) drive a red convertible across the Mojave from L.A. to Vegas, where Duke has an assignment to cover the Mint 400 desert motorcycle race. As the drugs kick in, Duke ventures into voiceover, filling in the blank spots and narrative gaps. "This is not a good town for psychedelic drugs," says Duke, but even so, they consume vast quantities, eventually escalating to ether. Duke notes that with ether "you can actually watch yourself behaving this terrible way, but you can't control it." The two trash their hotel room, and Gonzo goes back to L.A. Thinking the hotel room holocaust will lead to an arrest, Duke begins a drive back to L.A., but after an odd encounter with a highway patrolman (
Gary Busey) and a telephone conversation with Gonzo, he returns to Vegas to cover the District Attorney Convention on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the glitzy Flamingo Hotel. This time the drugged-out duo trash their Flamingo room. The crazed carnival atmosphere segues into a carney casino, Bazooko's Circus, where a barker (
Penn Jillette) spiels amid aerialists, clowns, and a rotating carousel bar. Gonzo worries over runaway teen Lucy (
Christina Ricci), who paints portraits of
Barbra Streisand. Soon the hallucinations begin: Duke sees Gonzo transmogrify into a demon with breasts on its back, and an acid vision of a Vegas bar features large legit lounge lizards (courtesy of monster makeup man
Rob Bottin). Flashbacks depicting Duke's intro to the drug scene jump back to love-Haight relationships in San Francisco's Summer of Love. Cameos and guest stars include
Mark Harmon,
Cameron Diaz,
Flea,
Lyle Lovett,
Harry Dean Stanton,
Ellen Barkin,
Tobey Maguire, and
Hunter S. Thompson himself. The film features a
Geffen Records soundtrack mixing rock of the period with Vegas lounge tunes. Over the years, various script adaptations came and went as did numerous talents; people connected with past efforts to film
Thompson's book include
Martin Scorsese,
Jack Nicholson,
Dan Aykroyd,
John Belushi, and writer-director
Alex Cox. Shown in competition at the 1998
Cannes Film Festival.
~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
