½ Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

[Twinkletoes: 0.5]

Twinkletoes says: 'This is the 1998 Terry Gilliam adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson book of the same name. A book which describes a few drug addled days in Las Vegas that Thompson spent with his "attorney" (I think this is supposed to be a joke but who knows). Going into this film I knew next to nothing about Thompson. Having now seen the film I want to know no more. Thompson is portrayed as angry, paranoid, delusional and full of himself. From the odd gait to the herky-jerky movements to the peculiar speech patterns that reminded me of Thurston Howell III, Johnny Depp's performance is like a bad cartoon we might see at an animation for adults program just before something about penguins. Some have lauded the performance and for all I know it may be spot on, but all that tells me is that this is a man that I have no interest whatsoever in knowing. The plot, for lack of a better term finds Thompson being sent to Vegas to cover a motorcycle race and then a district attorney's convention. But that is all really inconsequential to the story being told here which literally consists of nothing but Thompson and his cohort consuming copious amounts of drugs and wrecking hotel rooms/fighting with hotel guests/fighting with each other/fighting with hotel workers. The film is chaotic, surrealistic and exudes an almost palpable paranoia. I guess that was the point and while I suppose I can respect that, the question I can't figure out is that if this is what it feels like to take all of these drugs, why take all of these drugs? Lost in all this is what I think the book was probably really about but was only hinted at in a bit of voiceover work by Depp towards the end of the film, and that is the ultimate failure of the 60's generation and how it transformed into the nightmarish world portrayed in this film. In the end I would guess that this film very well may an accurate telling of the book it was based upon, but I found it bordering on completely unwatchable.'