The Rum Diary Review

Posted by Nolan Woodford on 10.28.2011

Johnny Depp returns to his Fear and Loathing roots as he takes on another Hunter S. Thompson story in The Rum Diary! But is it worth checking out? 411's Nolan Woodford checks in with his full review!



Paul Kemp: Johnny Depp
Bob Salas: Michael Rispoli
Chenault: Amber Heard
Edward J. Lotterman: Richard Jenkins
Moberg: Giovanni Ribisi
Sanderson: Aaron Eckhart

FilmDistrict presents a film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Based off the 1961 novel The Rum Diary (published in 1998) by Hunter S. Thompson.
Rated R for language, drug use, and sexuality.
Running Time: 2 hours
Release Date: October 28, 2011

Bruce Robinson hadn't had a drink in six years before he began writing the film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's The Rum Diary. He hadn't been involved in a film in any capacity in much longer. So Robinson began to drink again as he attempted to put his own spin on the once unpublished novel that Johnny Depp stumbled upon while living in Hunter S. Thompson's basement. With Robinson having been personally recruited by Depp to tackle this project, it's not unfathomable watching this film that it was penned by a drunk man. Thompson probably would've wanted it that way.

The Rum Diary follows a young, hungover alter ego of Hunter S. Thompson named Paul Kemp (Depp, who also played the Thompson alter ego Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) as he heads to Puerto Rico to interview for a position with a local newspaper. The man in charge, Lotterman (Jenkins), gives Kemp the job because he was the only man who applied. The job contains little more than writing phony horoscopes and seeing which American tourist had the best night at the bowling alley. Not exactly a dream come true for an ambitious young writer trying to find his voice.

Of course, Hunter S. Thompson didn't become one of the 20th century's great writers by writing horoscopes. One of the many wonderful things about Thompson's work, even at such an early age, is that you're never quite sure how real the crazy situations he allegedly got himself into were. There are plenty of those situations to be found in The Rum Diary - and this was well before Thompson had a briefcase full of drugs in the middle of the Nevada desert. Many of the situations are indirectly a result of Kemp's developing business relationship with a man named Sanderson (Eckhart).

Kemp is far more interested in Sanderson's girlfriend, Chenault (Heard), than any potential endavors with the sharp-dressed businessman. It's impossible to blame him. There are several things this film lacks, but terrific casting is not one of them. Amber Heard as Chenault is just one example, as she steals the screen with one of the more alluring performances in recent memory. While not having quite the same sex appeal, the supporting work of Michael Rispoli, Giovanni Ribisi, and Richard Jenkins is also top-notch. Ribisi has perhaps the most commanding screen presence of the entire movie as the 470 Proof drinking Moberg. While the Academy may completely ignore The Rum Diary, depending on what the next two months bring, its members may want to at least consider Ribisi for a Best Supporting Actor nod.

Alas, maybe it's my fondness for all things Hunter S. Thompson that made me enjoy this movie as much as I did. Depp, possibly the biggest Thompson fan of all, portays Kemp with the same voice and passion that he gave Duke thirteen years ago. As one of the executive producers, maybe he didn't mind The Rum Diary having the feel that it was made by a drunk man. (Since, well, it really kind of was.) Without the most definitive plot, once the film ends you may be satisfied with what you saw while at the same time thinking, "That's it?" Those who enjoy the movie such as I did will enjoy it because of the sum of its parts, not because of how those parts come together as a whole.

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The 411:  The Rum Diary lacks any sort of well constructed narrative, but that is more than made up for with a superb cast. There are scenes to be adored and there are scenes that may make you scratch your head and wonder, "What was the point of that?" Sometimes they are both. Some may find the film to drag a bit towards the end - it is guilty of being too long and doesn't have much of a conclusion - but I never tired of watching the performances. The Rum Diary isn't a film for everyone and isn't quite Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but despite Robinson's filmmaking rust, I still found it to be very satisfying.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]