Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

	Directed by: Terry Gilliam	COUNTRY USA GENRE Black comedy/ Adventure NORWEGIAN TITLE Frykt og avsky i Las Vegas RUNNING TIME 118 minutes
	Produced by: Laila Nabulsi Patrick Cassavetti Stephen Nemeth
	Written by (based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson): Terry Gilliam Tony Grisoni Tod Davies Alex Cox

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Raoul Duke	Johnny Depp
Dr. Gonzo	Benicio del Toro
The Waitress at North Star Cafe	Ellen Barkin	-
Lacerda	Craig Bierko	½
The Highway Patrolman	Gary Busey	½
The Blonde TV Reporter	Cameron Diaz	-
Hippie	Flea	-
The Magazine Reporter at Mint 400	Mark Harmon	-
The Desk Clerk at Mint Hotel	Katherine Helmond	-
Dr. L. Ron Bumquist	Michael Jeter	½
The Road Person	Lyle Lovett	-
The Hitchhiker	Tobey Maguire	½
Sven, Flamingo Hotel Clerk	Chris Meloni	½
Lucy	Christina Ricci
The Judge	Harry Dean Stanton	-

Review

Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro drive, rummage, and stagger in and around Las Vegas, looking to do drugs, do some drugs, and then do some more drugs as Hunter S. Thompson's semi-autobiographical gonzo journalists Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo. Depp's Groucho Marx-inspired and del Toro's slug-like performances are too uninspired and mannered for their oddities to be more than mildly amusing. And director Terry Gilliam's attempt at translating their druggy haze through a feverish, largely incommunicative aesthetic quickly becomes tiresome, to say the least. Granted, Duke and Gonzo's continual drug-induced hallucinations give ample opportunity for Gilliamesque stylistic touches, from warped lenses to beastly creations, but the film is so directionless that everything seems to devolve rather than develop. And above all: there is no real story. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is all about experiences and states of mind, which isn't very captivating in the long run – secondhand haze isn't much of a high.