Fellman's Movie Reviews

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1998 surrealist black comedy based on the novel written by Hunter S. Thompson of the same name. The movie stars Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke, an alias of Thompson, and Benecio Del Toro as Dr. Gonzo, an alias of Oscar Zeta Acosta, a friend of Thompson’s. The movie is written and directed by Terry Gilliam. A founding member of the British comedy troupe Monty Python.  

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a different kind of movie. It polarizes viewers. Some see it as good and some see it as bad. But they don’t see it as good and bad for the same reasons. They’re expecting different things. They want things that aren’t coming. Some people get blindsided by things they didn’t expect to see and are even more confounded by the story than they thought they would be. And then there are those who actually read the book, and know what Hunter S. Thompson’s writing is about. Those people find it a different movie entirely. This is literally my favorite movie. My #1. And I’m a movie critic. I don’t know what that says about my personality, or my state of mind. But it certainly makes writing the review a lot easier.  

Johnny Depp spent 4 months living with Hunter S. Thompson on his ranch, The Owl Farm, out in Colorado before filming this movie as research for this film. Studying Hunter’s habits and persona. Hunter even shaved Depp’s head to match his look of male pattern baldness. Depp has stories of Thompson coming into a room with handfuls of pills and holding them out to him and going “eat these”. And Depp would say “what are they?” And Hunter would say “breakfast…” And that’s how their day would begin. Now that’s character driven acting right there.  

But the movie isn’t all about drugs and shaved heads. I mean, it’s mostly about drugs. Not so much shaved heads. But the message is clear for those who’ve read the book. It’s a journey. A journey that could only happen at one particular time, in one particular place. You couldn’t get away with something like that in the 80s or 90s. People were much more uptight by then. And Las Vegas was probably the only place where you could be anonymous enough to pull a stunt like that without getting caught by every agency looking to make a name for itself by catching somebody doing exactly what you were doing.  

The fact that he wrote a book about his exploits, and then Terry Gilliam had the foresight to turn that book into a movie, a visually enticing movie on top of that, is awe-inspiring. It’s a testament to the spirit that our generation has lost. That the next generation doesn’t have. And the generation after that might not even understand. Not because of our willingness, because who doesn’t want to get messed up and go rampaging through a circus? But because of our opportunities. The circus is digital now. There are cameras everywhere. Hunter would probably call this a dystopian society if he were alive to see it.  

So, yeah. Go and see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. And also, read the book if you get the chance as a nice partner to the film. It’s good for the soul. It lets you know that there was once a time and a place that you could go crazy, be rambunctious, and not wind up on the news with stories all over the internet and videos of you minutes afterward. But alas, those days are long gone. And all we’re left with are good movies to remind us of better times. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…