Rhum Express

Rum Diary (2011)

If you're looking for the craziness of later Hunter S. Thompson, you'll find shreds of it here. In a way this is a more cogent movie than say "Fear and Loathing…" but it's also a bit prosaic beneath the wilder stuff that peppers the surface. Johnny Depp stars and runs the show in his usual strong if uninspired way as a new, hard-drinking reporter with a failing English language newspaper in Puerto Rico.

There is a true surface here that's pretty amazing--the cars, the low down rot of the apartments, the racism between the rich white Americans and the indigenous Puerto Ricans. The depth you might expect and want here is slim, however, even though all the pieces are in play for a great drama--a charming troubled writer in a land filled with prejudice and violence and great natural beauty. It pushes the clichés too hard, and it's generally agreed (even by Thompson) that the material is weak and "rambling." The movie doesn't rearrange it enough to make it work.

You can in a way watch this for those surfaces, if you don't need too much more. There are several secondary characters who do their best to be a bit insane, including Giovanni Ribisi as a drugged out waif of a reporter, something like what Thompson himself might have become later in life. (See of course the Depp in the imperfect 1998 "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" for a sense of the famous freewheeling selfish addled sometimes brilliant Thompson.)

The director here also adapted Thompson's book and if he gets the credit for the nice ambiance of the film he also gets the burden of how clunky, choppy, and sometimes slow it is, even with such exciting material. It's not a horror, it's watchable, but you'll flag here and there. Even the end, without giving a thing away, is a bit deflating.

A Labor of Love, Johnny Depp's Homage to Offbeat Journalist and sometime Novelist Hunter S. Thompson is Affectionate, Warm, and at the Same Time Desperate.

The Novel was Written Early in Thompson's Career when He first Discovered Alcohol and the need for Journalistic Integrity (that defined the writer's output).

Those Expecting the Hallucinatory Visuals and Bombastic, Outrage of Terry Gilliam's and Johnny Depp's take on the Author's most Popular Work, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"(1998) will most Likely be Disappointed. Critics and Moviegoers Reflected this resulting in Poor Box Office and Scathing Reviews.

The Strength of the Movie are the Words, the Dialog that is filled with Insights and Rhetorical Rage. Almost Every Scene is Riddled with Entertaining Oratorical Observations.

The Look of the Movie can't be Faulted as the Beauty of the Island is Contrasted with the Dehumanizing Poverty.

The Cast is Outstanding with Bravura Performances from Michael Siboli, Giovanni Ribisi, and Richard Jenkins. Amber Heard is the Eye Candy. Aaron Eckhart is the Capitalist Villain, a Role that is Not Very Demanding.

Overall, it is an Offbeat Movie that does not have Wide Appeal. Thompson Himself Struggled for Wide Appeal, while Maintaining His Integrity and Never quite got there, at least Not Until very Late in Life, as He Gained Respect and Admiration as a Cult Figure.

The Wordsmith was Given High Tribute by Depp as He Strove to get the Unpublished Novel in Print and the Movie Made.

It's an Odd Film that most likely will Gain in Reputation in the Coming Years when Expectations aren't so High and Knee-Jerk concerning the Long Awaited Novel and Movie.

I'm one of the uncultured folks who never read a word of Hunter S. Thompson in my life. If that describes you, too, then read on.

The appeal of this film is geared toward the cult following of HST, capitalizing on the quirky "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" vibe that Johnny Depp created for the character. Apparently Depp was HST's friend in life, so we can expect a respectful, if not accurate, portrayal. Who knows if that's truly the case, but the Depp character is very likable and unique.

The character comes across as intelligent, always seeming to understand things 1 level deeper than everyone else; however he never comes across as condescending, judgmental or cynical. That's the real beauty to me. For example he can sit and listen to his friend, a drunken Hitler fan, say some pretty racy and racist things, and he doesn't say a word. But in that deer-eyed look that only Depp can do, we feel the comedy of the awkward situation without feeling the bitterness of, say, someone rolling their eyes or sighing in exasperation.

It's that innocent-yet-worldly approach that makes his performance such a treat to watch. The opening scene sets the character's tone for the entire film: he awakens in a hotel room looking like he had just spent the night drinking a small bathtub of booze. The locked mini bar has been ravaged as if by a pack of crazed ferrets. The room service guy stares in disbelief as Depp says, "I avoid alcohol" and then with that boyish smile "when I can." What can I say, that had me rolling right off the bat. The whole movie is somewhat low-key like that. There are no big punchlines, pratfalls or sight gags, but there are some absolutely classic moments like that which make you feel like you're part of an inside joke.

The story itself? Well here's where I do know something about the book: many things were changed, and the ending itself was watered down. But it's still entertaining with a message: it's the story of a lone crusader who uses the power of journalism to battle the corrupt commercial powers invading Puerto Rico. I have to admit that the ending left me a little unsatisfied but not because it was weak. I didn't like it because it sorta injected a clichéd, Hallmark-channel-type scene when this film is certainly not Hallmark-channel material. But really that was just a 30 second scene, and aside from that I thought the film was well presented.

Of course there will be comparisons to Terry Gilliam's "Fear & Loathing" which established the HST-Depp character and his surreal adventures. Hardcore Gilliam fans might be offended by the mimicry, but I thought it was well played in the same way I enjoyed Peter Hyams' film "2010" which was a fan-doomed followup to Kubrick's untouchable "2001".

"The Rum Diary" doesn't have quite as much surrealism & quirk, but it certainly has its fair share. There's a psychedelic drug-induced line about a man's tongue that had me in stitches. I won't spoil it, you gotta hear it for yourself.

If you're a casual fan of "Fear & Loathing" (or maybe even a hardcore fan, who knows), if you like early Depp characterizations like "Ed Wood", if you like existentialist comedies about people who seem to be adrift in their own isolated world with their equally outcast friends, you might want to check this out.

WARNING: One thing I didn't care for was the way it glorified cockfighting (all the characters seem to enjoy & profit from it). But at least there's no blood or mutilation shown, and the American Humane Association did monitor film production. Still it might be a little unsettling for people who don't like depictions of animal abuse.

The film begins with main character Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) waking up in a luxurious hotel room in Puerto Rico after a heavy night of drinking. After chomping down a few aspirin, Kemp stumbles into the editors office of the San Juan Star and is given a dead end writing job. After a few chance encounters, Kemp becomes the center of intrigue and corruption while consuming copious amounts of alcohol.

"The Rum Diary" was originally a novella from the twisted mind of Hunter S. Thompson an eccentric journalist and novelist who in addition to smoking, snorting, injecting, drinking every drug, alcohol and carcinogen known to man, managed to change the face of journalism by calling it as he sees it. His writing can repel and enchant with equal measure and has a breakneck spontaneity which is rivaled by its frazzled incoherency.

Incoherency would be the best word to describe this film. The story lacks any kind of focus jumping from a love story, a corrupt land deal, drunken antics, workplace politics and racial tensions. Watching "The Rum Diary" was like talking to a drunk grad student; little flashes of genius may linger but after what seems like four hours you realize you're talking to a drunken idiot and looking for the door.

Thompson's other work adapted to screen shares a similar inconsistency but say what you will about "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" at least it was interesting. Director Bruce Robinson seems unsure behind the camera trying desperately to balance themes and while Terry Gilliam threw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, Robinson compensates by drawing out its screen time and keeping the camera-work and editing as dull and uninspiring as possible.

The films only saving grace is the inclusion of Giovanni Ribisi as a cirrhosis addled, syphilitic cohort who takes LSD while listening to records of Nazi propaganda. His arguments with the Star's head editor (Richard Jenkins) provide some of the few precious moments of humor.

The epilogue appears while Johnny Depp sails into the horizon explaining that while its the end of the story "...its the beginning of another." I would have liked to have seen the other story. At least by then the sardonic wit of Thompson was finally present.

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I have read the book and this movie holds true to the voice that Thompson writes with - this is what makes the movie works. Depp's role, unsurprisingly, mimics his portrayal of Hunter in Fear and Loathing (only with less drugs, not counting alcohol).

The movie can, realistically, be summed up in one "revelation" Depp's character has with a rather unusual counterpart. Throughout the film we see examples of the opulent lifestyle of few and downtrodden livings of the many.

What Depp confides with his "friend", allows us to use what we have learned up to that point in the movie and chew on for the remainder of the movie, is this - the banks hold the wealth while leaving us (and the starving children) to stare at empty brass plates hanging on their front doors. Whether you agree with it or not, this is not a stretch to compare with the "occupy" movement settling into America and around Europe today.

This movie is good. Much like the original book, this movie doesn't try to entertain the viewer; it allows the viewer to sit back and follow along as one man experiences a lifetime of ups and downs in a matter of weeks. And be prepared to go out for a drink afterward, you'll need it.