Review of Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) by David E — 04 Dec 2008

Well made doc about the wild and crazy man that was Hunter S. Thompson. I've never read any of his work. I merely saw Terry Gilliam's, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Saw it several times actually, and own it. That was motivation enough to want to learn more about the mind that could have written the story.

In the end I'd say the documentary paints him as kind of pathetic though. Sure he was a great literary talent, and probably could have been much more, although completely different stylistically, if he wasn't 'Gonzo' all the time, stoned, ripped, drunk, and high out of his mind. I suppose he was influential to some extent in his time. That time just happens to have been before my time, and by watching this he comes off as merely a chronically depressed, drug addicted commentator. His suicide is the capstone on all that. Who seriously talks to nearly everyone he knows about how one day he's finally gonna do himself in with a gun, to the point that his own son wasn't surprised when it happened. The man was sick.