Starring: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and Aaron Eckhart
Directed by: Bruce Robinson
Screenplay by: Bruce Robinson
Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson
It's the 1960s and the guy who plays Jack Sparrow is still getting rather drunk. But this time, Johnny Depp plays an American journalist.
Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) has just moved to Puerto Rico where he has taken a job at the San Juan Star newspaper, a newspaper that is well on its way to bankruptcy and will shortly go out of business. So, in the mean time, he is working on covering a hotel development project on a remote island (whose name and location are never revealed) with a very wealthy American, Hal Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). And then there's Chenault (Amber Heard), who seems to be Sanderson's girlfriend and has no really important role. She seems to be there simply for young teenage boys like me to stare at and drool over her beauty.
I'll be honest. There is little in the way of a discernible plot in this film. It feels like we're watching a bunch of little vignettes that have something to do with each other, but the overall plot is somewhat hard to actually see. There's little story and a whole lot of sometimes irrelevant details. For example, there's one scene where Chenault invites Kemp to a carnival on another island. There is absolutely no reason this scene should be in the film because there's nothing in the scene that even remotely furthers the development of the story. It's just another chance to see Chenault.
Another downside to the film I see is that Kemp, who is the main character, seems rather peripheral throughout much of the film. In some scenes, he seems to be in the shot, awkwardly not saying anything or saying very little, while the conversation goes on without him.
The worst part of the film is the cinematography. Every once in a while (by that I mean a few times a year), there's a movie that makes me wonder if Hollywood still knows what a tripod is. The Rum Diary happens to be the current film that does that. I actually got a bit dizzy during some of the scenes. I didn't realize that one of the points of the film was to make viewers feel drunk.
The good part of the film is that it's funny. Most of the humor consists of puns, not so much any slapstick humor or jokes. However, it's only funny to a certain extent. It's not the comedy I expected it to be.
I think I expected a lot more from The Rum Diary than what I got out of it. In short, there's not much of a story, it's not the funniest film in the world, and the one character who seems to be constantly drunk on a drink that is 470 proof (yes, this is actually possible in this film) alcohol annoys the living daylights out of me. I expected non stop laughs, and I walked out of the theater wondering why I actually went to see it in the first place.
The Rum Diary is only going to get C- proof drinks from me.
Directed by: Bruce Robinson
Screenplay by: Bruce Robinson
Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson
It's the 1960s and the guy who plays Jack Sparrow is still getting rather drunk. But this time, Johnny Depp plays an American journalist.
Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) has just moved to Puerto Rico where he has taken a job at the San Juan Star newspaper, a newspaper that is well on its way to bankruptcy and will shortly go out of business. So, in the mean time, he is working on covering a hotel development project on a remote island (whose name and location are never revealed) with a very wealthy American, Hal Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). And then there's Chenault (Amber Heard), who seems to be Sanderson's girlfriend and has no really important role. She seems to be there simply for young teenage boys like me to stare at and drool over her beauty.
I'll be honest. There is little in the way of a discernible plot in this film. It feels like we're watching a bunch of little vignettes that have something to do with each other, but the overall plot is somewhat hard to actually see. There's little story and a whole lot of sometimes irrelevant details. For example, there's one scene where Chenault invites Kemp to a carnival on another island. There is absolutely no reason this scene should be in the film because there's nothing in the scene that even remotely furthers the development of the story. It's just another chance to see Chenault.
Another downside to the film I see is that Kemp, who is the main character, seems rather peripheral throughout much of the film. In some scenes, he seems to be in the shot, awkwardly not saying anything or saying very little, while the conversation goes on without him.
The worst part of the film is the cinematography. Every once in a while (by that I mean a few times a year), there's a movie that makes me wonder if Hollywood still knows what a tripod is. The Rum Diary happens to be the current film that does that. I actually got a bit dizzy during some of the scenes. I didn't realize that one of the points of the film was to make viewers feel drunk.
The good part of the film is that it's funny. Most of the humor consists of puns, not so much any slapstick humor or jokes. However, it's only funny to a certain extent. It's not the comedy I expected it to be.
I think I expected a lot more from The Rum Diary than what I got out of it. In short, there's not much of a story, it's not the funniest film in the world, and the one character who seems to be constantly drunk on a drink that is 470 proof (yes, this is actually possible in this film) alcohol annoys the living daylights out of me. I expected non stop laughs, and I walked out of the theater wondering why I actually went to see it in the first place.
The Rum Diary is only going to get C- proof drinks from me.
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