The Rum Diary

Johnny Depp in a Hunter S. Thomson story?  Awesome.  Playing a young Hunter S. Thomson? Wicked!

I loved the manic nature of this trailer.  It was very much in the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson, except I don't recall anything blowing up, but I'm sure something will in this film.

The first 20 minutes of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is arguably the funniest opening 20 minutes of any film I've ever seen.  The restaurant scene where he tosses the tip, the car rental scene, the unforgettable drive to Vegas, the bats, Benicio del Toro singing "One toke over the line," the hitch-hiker (Toby McGuire) and the arrival and check-in in Vegas.  Just thinking about these scenes cracks me up.  I'm watching them tonight on Netflix.

Michael Rispoli was hilarious as Spinner in one of my favourite dark comedies, Death to Smoochy.  He looks like a good sidekick for Depp in The Rum Diary.

Aaron Eckhart is hit and miss for me.  I enjoyed watching him get scalped in Nurse Betty, found him annoyingly charming in Thank You for Smoking and enjoyed his acting in Suspect Zero.  Other roles, not so much.

The Rum Diary is a perfect way for Depp to redeem himself (to my unimportant self) after all that mainstream pirate nonsense. I know Johnny is an avid fan of Beerbohmtastic and cares deeply when he's mentioned.... okay so I can be delusional sometimes, but it's not alcohol nor drug induced....

This film would be high on my viewing priority list if I was organized enough to have a viewing priority list.  I'll see it anyway... likely soon.