Review of Breakfast with Hunter (2003) by Tom A — 14 Dec 2007

Rough, free-flowing document of a few years in the 1990s with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. While this straight-to-video film gives little insight into his writing, and is technically shoddy (bad sound, bad cinematography, songs are clumsily inserted without any reason, etc.) , it gives you a relaxed feeling of hanging out with Thompson during a series of revealing antics: an appearance with Johnny Depp and John Cusack at the Viper Room; spraying uptight Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner with a fire extinguisher; discussing his DUI case with the Aspen City police; illustrator Ralph Steadman confessing he always felt he should have had equal credit with Thompson for their shared works; and, in the most arresting scene, throwing filmmaker Alex Cox (then signed to direct Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) out of his house for having too many animated sequences in the planned film. Often it is difficult to hear Thompson's low, guttural murmurs (there are optional subtitles) but this only adds to the gonzo feeling of the film, which well reflects the subject. There is something perversely satisfying in watching a bonafide genius constantly misbehaving, unafraid to look like a fool, smoking, smoking pot, and constantly drinking (including while driving, not with a bottle but an open glass of Scotch).Enjoyable if ultimately not quite satisfying in its portrait of a major literary figure.

The DVD extras are sometimes even more interesting than what is in the film. We see P.J. O'Roarke discussing Thomas Mann and Vladimir Nabokov with Thompson (one of the few literary discussions); writing a song (and it sounds pretty bad) with Warren Zevon; and discussing the fate of his Fear and Loathing co-pilot Oscar Acosta. Unfortunately, the commentary track with Thompson and filmmaker Wayne Ewing is tedious and not enlightening.