Review of Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) by Alex H — 12 Jul 2008

Perhaps the best part of going to see Gonzo: the Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson was the guy sitting in front of me. He was, to be (pardon the pun) blunt; high. However, what made me laugh out loud was not that he was high; it was that about half way through the film he got up, left the auditorium only to return 10 min later smelling like pot. I thought this fitting, after all this was a film about a man who spent much of his adult life either drunk or high.

And now to the reviewâ?¦.

Gonzo is a compelling documentary on Hunter S. Thompson, the brilliant and often â??bat shit insaneâ?? writer whose approach to journalism changed the way many look at America today. Alex Gibney, director of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, crafted a hysterically funny yet painfully poignant character profile of Thompson. Interviews with his friends, family, and even his most bitter rivals are intermixed with archival footage of Thompson as well as excerpts from his work to describe his most infamous and intimate moments. The film, perhaps, does rely a little too heavily on clips from Terry Gilliamâ??s film adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and the music feels a little too conventional and expected at times; after all who doesnâ??t expect to hear Jimmy Hendrix over images of drug use in the 60â??s. But overall, itâ??s a great documentary, and a film definitely worth seeing.