If there were ever a case of a movie following its source too faithfully, it would surely be the new adaptation of the infamous Hunter S. Thompson drug-culture book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Like the semi-factual work that spawned it, "Fear and Loathing" may cause just that in most audiences. This nauseatingly vivid film is so headache-inducing that it's a real bummer.
The movie's hallucinatory sequences and scenes of drug use have already caused controversy with Cannes Film Festival crowds, and the ABC television network has refused its ad spots.
But as vivid as its depictions of drug-induced frenzies are, the film actually presents a case against taking drugs . . . if you can sit through it, that is.
The plot almost defies description, except to say that it's a tripped-out version of "Don Quixote." Johnny Depp stars as Raoul Duke (Thompson's fictional alter ego), a freelance magazine writer who is sent to cover a desert motorcycle race in Nevada for Sports Illustrated.
Accompanied by his ether-snorting cohort Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro), Duke heads out to Las Vegas in a convertible that's fully stocked with all sorts of illegal drugs and booze.
Under the influence, the two proceed to terrorize a young hitchhiker (Tobey Maguire), freak out a television reporter (Cameron Diaz) — and they get involved with a teenage artist (Christina Ricci) who inevitably causes their downfall.
There are some intermittent amusing moments to be had, thanks to the trademark wild visual style of director Terry Gilliam ("Brazil," "Twelve Monkeys"). And it is perverse fun to pick out all the stars who appear in brief cameos (including Katherine Helmond, Mark Harmon, Lyle Lovett, Harry Dean Stanton and Michael Jeter, as well as Debbie Reynolds' voice).
Also, to his credit, Depp manages to replicate the "gonzo" journalist's voice and mannerisms nicely. However, that makes it even harder to tolerate spending two hours with his character, or with Del Toro, who is even more annoying.
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is rated R for extensive profanity, scenes depicting drug use, sickening vulgar gags and jokes, nude artworks and makeup appliances, brief gore and use of one racial epithet.