By Morgan P Salvo
I am going to be Captain Obvious here and say that it really ticks me off when something that is supposed to be good isn’t. Figuring in Johnny Depp’s history of constant chameleon acting and his dear late friend Hunter S Thompson’s Gatling gun writing style I’m sure I can speak for us all when I say I think we had a hit here on our hands. Sadly this is not the case. With The Rum Diary we get a direction that borders on cute and mediocre. The whole thing was meek and needed more punch falling flat way more than succeeding in telling a hugely interesting and compelling story. The one-dimensional plot involves journalist Paul Kemp (Depp), who in 1960 moves from New York to work a freelance job for a local newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Diary follows the sleazy planning and development scam that bleeds into the running of a newspaper, but is mainly a very loose collection of drug and alcohol fueled mishaps. Kemp struggles between corrupt business dealing, romance, and drinking with the expatriates who live there. Thompson himself had unsuccessfully applied to work at the larger English-language daily while in Puerto Rico, befriending many of the writers there, providing the context for Rum Diary's fictional storyline. And it wasn’t until he and Depp came upon the novel together that it became published it in 1998. It is Thompson's second novel he had given up the novel because it had originally "bounced about seven times - I got the standard list of rejection letters -got into the politics of the 60s and 70s, he revisited the book because "it's got a romantic notion...that and money 'ye gods, this is me, this is the world I lived in'…this is only simplified more in this celluloid version.
I read the book a few years back and remember it was pretty engaging with rebellious insight and tons of humor. This unbelievably meek rendition of Rum diary reminded me of the Malcolm Lowry film version of Under the Volcano although helmed by vet John Huston and a great performance by Albert Finney it still could not contain the literary power of the book. Diary seems to be afraid to dig deep and get to the meat of the story just glazing the surface. This flick had all the makings to be another Barfly expanding on Hunter’s manic lifestyle but the route we get to travel takes us to cuteness rather than full tilt debauchery. Maybe that’s the problem; it’s hard to gage the lens of a gut felt writer on film. Best line saved from book “a liberal is a communist with a college degree and Negro thoughts.”
There’s Thompson lingo peppered throughout but the meandering of each scene and the weirdly paced bad timing of the uncomfortable spacing make the lines seem oddly out of place like someone just forced a Hunter line down someone’s gullet and they regurgitate it back up with no idea of what they are saying. Diary is just snippets of easily executed scenes without going to the limit. It lacks edginess. With many promising scenes to take us over the brink instead we just sit at the brink and say “Ok, that’s the brink let’s go back now…”
On the bright side we get some excellent acting from the side characters; Veteran character Michael Rispoli whose range encompasses Sopranos and Death to Smoochy finally gets a chance to shine but when the movie keeps falling down it takes him with it. Ribisi out does himself in a tricky tightrope walk of being super brilliant and super ruined obviously enjoying hamming it up in a very wrecked manner. Jenkins hits every mark and is an all out joy to watch but is just not in it enough. Amber Heard needed to add more sex to her pot and Aaron Eckhart just gets on my nerves these days.
Johnny Depp on Letterman said that he and Thompson dug out the story and Thompson said “hey this would make a great movie” to which Depp’s response was “maybe you should publish it first.” Too bad then, that Depp’s channeling of Thompson comes off monotonous, posing and very cheeky rather than a guy with an axe to grind. Although I get the fact that this is where Thompson found his voice making it his life long goal to “fight the bastards with rage and ink” it still feels like too much of a wimpy homage to his legacy. Whereas Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing went so over-the-top and was all manic energy this flick is all reined in attempting reverence by referring to stories within the novel itselfThe music throughout is ill picked and a major distraction beginning with Dean Martin’s Volare to bad Muzak poppy jazz. Between the piss poor editing job and the lame ass music it’s a tossup as to which is the most annoying. As a huge Bukowski and Thompson fan and a one time devoted proponent of all things booze and drug related I can relate completely to the intake of inebriates but the acid trip here is lackluster at best. One surreal shot then cut to the actors walking along a street talking about being high. And correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think they wore bell bottoms in 1960. Don’t bother I know I’m right.
It’s a testament to bad judgment that in showing us the origin of “Gonzo” journalism and “putting the bastards on notice” this movie chooses to play it safe. I feel its part Depp’s lackluster performance and part Robinson’s too risk-free approach. Diary is not necessarily a detour but an all out shortcut. I think if Depp talks to Hunter in the afterlife, Thompson is probably telling him right now to never make a movie about him with such mediocrity ever again. I think Hunter S. should come back from the grave and tell them all how to make this movie correctly. This movie deserves it all. Too bad it’s all facades and no substance. You’d be better served seeing any documentary on Thompson. At least there you can see the world through his warped fish-eye lens.All I know is I could have done with some more high-octane-booze-fire-spitting. At least Kemp used the words “Whore Beast”.The Rum Diary
2 stars
Starring Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi
Written for the screen and directed by Bruce Robinson
Rated R
No comments:
Post a Comment