Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Hazy, rum-soaked cult classic in the making for adults only.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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The Rum Diary
What's the Story?
Failed novelist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) takes a job writing for a newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico, circa 1960. He starts drinking heavily with photographer Bob Salas (Michael Rispoli) but discovers there's more money to be made working with corrupt businessman Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), who's looking to blight the countryside with ritzy hotels. Unfortunately, Paul also has his eye on Sanderson's stunning girlfriend, the troubled and troublesome Chenault (Amber Heard). After consuming monstrous amounts of alcohol and bizarre, illicit drugs, Paul makes up his mind to bury Sanderson with a well-worded article. But is it too late? What will become of Paul after his Puerto Rico adventure ends?
Is It Any Good?
THE RUM DIARY definitely isn't for everyone. It's too long and very sluggish in places, and there's no real payoff. But it's an unofficial follow-up to 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and it marks the return of filmmaker Bruce Robinson, whose Withnail and I has already attained cult classic status. Add that to Hunter S. Thompson's unwavering underground prominence, and you have a cult classic in the making. And most of The Rum Diary is good enough to deserve it.
Best of all is Robinson's dry, British wit mingling with Thompson's raucous, biting prose, which results in some eminently quotable lines (like "my tongue feels like a towel"). Though it's not as consistently crazy as Fear and Loathing, Depp's performance is more measured and more sympathetic here, and the movie captures some vivid snapshots of Puerto Rico in action. While it's not 100% successful, most of the time it will have you either laughing hysterically or mad as hell.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the movie portrays drinking. Why do the characters drink so much? What are the consequences of their drinking and drug use? Are those consequences realistic?
Is Paul Kemp (a.k.a. Hunter S. Thompson) a hero or a role model in this movie? What does he accomplish?
Paul spends this movie looking for "his voice." How important is it for a writer to find that?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 28, 2011
- On DVD or streaming : February 14, 2012
- Cast : Aaron Eckhart , Johnny Depp , Michael Rispoli
- Director : Bruce Robinson
- Studio : FilmDistrict
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 120 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language, brief drug use and sexuality
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
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