That his comments and insights were fired and fueled by every known form of illegal substance was part of his legend. As per his custom, he was accompanied by his lawyer, Oscar Zeta Acosta, an activist and fellow substance abuser along for moral and legal support.įor Thompson, Las Vegas was a vast moral, ethical pit - a microcosm of the warping of America - and his writings were less about the road race and more blunt broadsides against establishment culture. As celebrated and wasted as a lead guitarist, Thompson was known as much for his drug-gorging persona as his colorful, inflammatory writings.įor studio execs too wet-behind-the-ears to remember Thompson’s heyday, Fear and Loathing was based on Thompson’s excursion to Las Vegas, ostensibly to cover an off-road race for Sports Illustrated. Thompson, the era’s most flamboyant, outrageous journalist whose combative political pronouncements and incendiary volleys against the reigning establishment stoked countercultural fires then burning in college youth. In the slapstick cinematic, Johnny Depp stars as Dr. At the closing credits, Raoul drives back to California to the tune of Jumpin’ Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones.Nostalgia-crazed baby boomers who remember being glazed and grazed by Thompson’s writings way back when will be sorely jilted by this simplistic reduction of the writer’s work and experiences to bald-faced buffoonery. He then returns to the hotel and writes his article.
Gonzo off at the airport and drives around the tarmac to park next to the plane.
A Suitable Ending for a Cult ClassicĪt the end of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Raoul drops Dr. Near the end of the movie, Raoul only knows what has happened during the heavily drug-induced trip because of a tape recorder he spoke into incessantly. They eventually check in to the Flamingo in Las Vegas, where they meet Lucy, played by Christina Ricci. The drugs they take have prevalence over the movie, as it leads to numerous hallucinations and irrational thinking. The hitchhiker eventually leaves in protest of their drug taking, and they move on to the race. They take numerous drugs along the way and go on adventures and crazy antics. Gonzo speeding down the Nevada desert freeway after taking a psychoactive drug called mescaline.They pick up a hitchhiker along the way and tell him what they’re up to, as Raoul has been hired by a magazine to write an article about the Mint 400 motorcycle race. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Film Summaryįear and Loathing in Las Vegas seems to open on a scene that has almost nothing to do with the film, as clips of Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movements are played to a Lennon Sisters song. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas earned a nomination for Terry Gilliam in 1998 for the “Palme d’Or” award at the Sundance Film Festival. While it was a failure, it has become an iconic, cult film after being released on DVD. It only grossed $10.6 million in North America, which was well below their budget of $18.5 million. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro) as they take a road trip across Nevada, pick up a hitchhiker, take part in psychoactive drugs and have many drunken adventures.įear and Loathing in Las Vegas is considered a failure according to their box office numbers.
Fear and Loathing follows Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr.
The movie was written and directed by Terry Gilliam and stars Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a dark comedy that was adapted from the novel in 1971, written by Hunter S.