Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson, 1971)

Five years ago I decided to fill in all the gaps in the Terry Gilliam film series. For the most part his movies are not all that great. I admire him as an artist and person, but they can't all be zingers. You've got the classics, like Time Bandits, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen on one hand, then stuff like Tideland and The Brothers Grimm on the other. Fear and Loathing (the film) falls a little more toward the latter, kind of around Fisher King and Jabberwocky territory. It was good enough that I put the book into my extensive to-read list and forgot about it for the next five years.

This is not a film blog, so I'm going to address the book here and only reference the film, of what I can remember, in relation to the book. I had actually read a little bit of Thompson (The Great Shark Hunt, a chapter or two) back in high school, so I remembered that he has a distinctly fast-clipped style of narration. I think this is where the film struggled, but that's just a natural challenge of adapting this work in any way, not a Gilliam thing. Surprisingly, it is quite lucid and engaging, so I didn't feel too confused at any point, even though Thompson ingested more illegal drugs in about one minute than I have in my entire lifetime.

There are huge debates about how much of Fear and Loathing is true. Google is full of debate about it and there is the whole question of the "gonzo journalism" subgenre, which Thompson pretty much owned all to himself. You cannot escape the Faulkner quote if you do this search: "The best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism and the best journalists have always known this." While a lot of people are concerned about the actual identity of the attorney friend or if the Mint 400 was a real race, I don't let myself get bogged down in the minutiae. Vegas and vicinity, although they have aged 45 years since the book was written, are unmistakable. The musings on the American dream and existence of God could (and have been!) used as source material for homilies and sermons. Also, anyone who has been to Vegas knows exactly what Thompson is talking about.

In short, don't let a mediocre movie scare you away from what is a true modern American classic. It isn't without its faults, but it will give you plenty to think about and discuss with others for years after you finish it. Just don't make any more film adaptations. Please.

I checked this out from the public library. It isn't hard to find, but it enjoys wide appeal among a variety of age groups even after all these years. You may need to get on a waiting list, and be prepared to have any renewals denied, as there is a good chance somebody else will be waiting for it!