When people ask me what 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' is about, I always reply that the story is not important and they should just take the trip.
Of course Fear and Loathing has a story, in this case one about a journalist ("doctor" of journalism Raoul Duke) and his attorney (a fat Samoan called Dr. Gonzo) who travel to Las Vegas with a car full of drugs to write an article about a race. After a half hour into the film it becomes clear that this goal is never going to be reach if these two weird character keep taking all those hallucinatory and mood-changing pills, smokes and powders. The main story line gets less important and the absurd and weird situations the characters get themselves into get more important. There are a few scenes however, in which Duke's narrative criticizes the American nation and the American Dream, but these are weaved into the film so they don't really break up the chain of strange events that seem to be going on.
Johnny Depp does a great job playing the alter ego of Gonzo writer Hunter S. Thompson (appertantly so well that he and Thompson became friends) and Benicio Del Toro provides us with a funny yet enigmatic 'sidekick' in the form of Dr. Gonzo. A couple of other Hollywood stars like Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci and Cameron Diaz play some of the supporting roles, which give the movie enough "Hey that's ....!" moments. All the characters are fun and weird in their own way, which makes up for the lack of main plot line that sometimes seems to bother people.
The best way to handle this film is like Raoul Duke handles his assignment: not in a conventional way and preferably with some drugs and booze. Just experience it!
Rating: 9.5/10
