Welcome to another installment of the TRASH BIN, where we watch the worst movies Hollywood has to offer, according to the critics, and give you our thoughts, good or bad. This week's pick is the 1998 black comedy...FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival back in 1998. It ended up being a box office dud, grossing only $10.6 million at the North American box office with an $18.5 million budget. However, it became a cult classic after being released on dvd, including a Special Edition released by The Criterion Collection.
The superb writing and acting kept Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from being just another movie about drugs. It stars Johnny Depp as Raoule Duke, an oddball journalist, and Benicio Del Toro as his psychopathic lawyer, Dr. Gonzo. The story follows these two guys as they travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades. A lot of craziness ensues, including my favorite part of the film when they pick up the hitchhiker.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas received mixed reviews from critics. Mike Clark from USA Today called it unwatchable. However, it received a positive review from Michael 'O Sullivan of the Washington Post. He said that Gilliam was a master of the medium and knew how to control it. I thought the movie had great humor at times; but it also showed how drugs are able to mess with your mind. This film definitely had its moments, especially with Toby Maguire as the hitchhiker.
Obviously, the critics don't have to like a movie for it to be deemed worthy of an audience, as I've enjoyed many movies that have had mixed reviews, including this one. But I'm not the only one, as fans have given this film some rather good scores, including a 7.7/10 on IMDb and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was a unique film because it stayed close to the book. Many movies adapted from books sometimes have very little of the original material. I enjoyed this film; but I'm also a huge Johnny Depp fan and am more than a little biased. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is definitely worth a look.
CRITIC'S SCORES:
Rotten Tomatoes: 49%
Metacritic: 41
Roger Ebert: 1/4
LISA'S SCORE: 6/10
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