Review of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) by Caleb D — 27 Nov 2011

Aw yeah, Willy Wonka and Che Guevara are 'bout to get some partyin' done, tonight! If only they had run into ol' Nicky Cage up there in Vegas, then this party would really be... well, kind of depressing. Actually, I don't know why Terry Gilliam didn't go that route, because as trippy and fun as his films are, they're kind of depressing, to a certain degree. "Doctor Parnassus" reminded us that Heath Ledger is dead, "The Brothers Grimm" was pretty disturbing at points, "12 Monkeys" made us see that Brad Pitt didn't have to be awful in "Se7en", his other breakout film of '95, and "Monty Python and the Holy Gail" was the first dent in the film side of the entertainment industry, because everyone was swallowing that garbage like Nicki Minaj, only "Holy Grail" is probably the only thing in the world that's less bearable than Nicki Minaj. Here, the most depressing thing is the fact that Benicio del Toro clearly made the grave mistake of doing a little bit of methhead-I mean method acting for this, and now he'll never lose that creepy stoner's voice, or taste in boring surrealistic films. I know "Che" wasn't really surrealistic, but I felt a little high by the end of it, complete with exhaustion, munchies and shenanigans with Neil Patrick Harris. Well, I didn't mind that last part, because that little adventure was pretty darn legen-wait for it...-dary, and really showed me just how much this film really needed some NPH to go with that LSD, almost as much as it needed some character development.

Okay, now, everyone and their grandmother that's a critic - seeing as everyone else and their grandmother loves this film - is really hammering down on this film for being "devoid" of development, and sure, this film stands to be more developed, but it's not devoid of development, being set-up just enough for us to attach ourselves to the characters and their situtation. I don't have a problem with the development, but I do agree with the critics when they say that the film is rather aimless. I haven't read the book, but it's got to be a great read, because even if you haven't read the book, Terry Gilliam's faithful attitude is so startlingly palpable, and that's great and all, for the most part, but what works in a book doesn't always work in a film (*cough*No Country*cough*Old Men*cough*), and the aimless narrative is faithful to a fault here. This film is just a little more than a random string of events, just running, and running, and running, tied together by some essence of a storyline, but one with no real point, rendering the progression of the film to be glacial. Still, this isn't like "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", where we're looking at fine style and entertainment value, but after a while the pacing goes from tedious to agonizing. It's not like Gilliam messed up and made the extreme faithfulness to the aimlessness of the story tedious, because there's no way you can be extremely faithful to this story without it getting aimless, so the best you can hope for is a little twist in every moment of repetition, as well as plenty of consistently great things to fight off tedium and keep entertainment value alive, and I assure you that Gilliam is the perfect choice if you're hoping for that.

Clearly, co-director Terry Jones was to blame for "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" being as suicidal-thoughts-provoking as it was, because there is no getting into a Terry Gilliam film without really enjoying the experience, and this is most certainly no exception. Gilliam's traditional and perfectly fitting taste in cinematography never ceases in doing new and inventive things around every corner in this film, dodging and diving through this world, all in vivid lighting, to really throw plenty of flair and life in not just the '70s, but the '70s on acid. It's as dizzying as it is wildly entertaining, watching this deeply immersive revisiting of Hunter S. Thompson's misadventures, and not just because of the breathtaking cinematography, but because of the great soundtrack and, of course, Gilliam's should-be legendary taste in humor. Again, Jones was all over "The Holy Grail", because if Gilliam really was in charge of that swill, I'd be dying laughing, because Gilliam has a near-masterful understanding of timing and directing a barrage of razor-sharp dialogue, making it relentless, but pulled back enough to where you come out of it exhausted, but enjoying yourself, and if anyone here has Wikipedia account, try your heart out to convince everyone that this is a comedy, because although this film does get deep towards the end, and effectively so, at that, I haven't laughed this hard at a drama since "Spawn", only this time, I'm laughing in a good way. Still, it's not like Gilliam is popping up onscreen to deliver the dialogue himself. This is just as much Deep and del Toro's show as it is Gilliam's.

This is the Hunter S. Thompson story, not the Oscar Zeta Acosta, or Dr. Gonzo story, and Benicio del Toro understands that, but still makes himself prominent and charismatic enough to hold your attention, delivering every bit of snap and humanity in his character in a fashion that's charming enough for you to latch onto him as a great secondary lead, but pulled back enough for him to play that part as the secondary lead. Still, even del Toro was mugging for your attention, you'd still be drawn to Johnny Depp, because even if this is a big, silly adventure, this is still phenomenal acting on Depp's part. If you hand Depp a script and say "Dive into the character", the response will probably be "Diving into the character is for chumps; I'm transforming into the character!" I don't care if he's playing Raoul Duke, or Hunter S. Thompson, or Clifford the Big Red Dog; Depp is unrecognizable, adopting the mannerisms and characteristics of his character in such a believable and transformative fashion. Still, even he wasn't transforming into a specific person, Depp would still be impressive, not just because his portrayal of every bit of sensation you can go through when you're high is so fantastic and expressive that you know he's authentic, even if you've never been high (Like myself... I just felt like emphasizing that), but because his charisma is so explosive that he just owns this film. Hey, for all I know, the critics actually were right and the script is completely devoid of development, but Depp is so transformative and atmospheric that you immediately bond with the life and experiences of this unintroduced person, and you feel as though you've been following this guy forever. Of course, I might just be thinking about the sensation that I got at the end of the film, because as I said, the progression is so radically elongated, that by the end, you really do feel as though you've been following these guys forever. Still, as repetitive, or purposeless as this film is, you never drift away from it, teathered to this world by Gilliam's slick style and the leads' electrically charismatic, so much so that after a while, you can't help but say, "I hope this never ends.".

At the end of the trip, if you know what I mean, it really hits you that there really is no point to this repetative, overlong adventure, but you just don't care, because tedium is extinguished by Terry Gilliam's slickly immersive and snappy direction, complemented by a sharp screenplay, great soundtrack, lively production and sharply charismatic and transformative lead performances by Benicio del Toro and, of course, Johnny Depp, thus composing a film that may not be great, but doesn't ask to be; only seeking to entertain all the way through, and on that level, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" succeeds with flying colors; and yes, that was a drug trip reference.

3/5 - Good.