Film The Rum Diary

[*dharmabum*]

Watched this the other night. I never read the novel, to be honest. Was a little disappointed. Honestly, didn't really follow the story too well, it felt all thrown together, like a lot was missing? Maybe someone who read the book can clarify if this is true or not.

It's a long time since I've read the novel, I really enjoyed reading it but felt that it wasn't something that could be transfered to the screen. Like you, I found the movie felt as if it lacked cohesion and felt 'thrown together' - I think the book benefited from HST's writing style, descriptions etc, and was a lot less reliant on outlandish or exciting events than Fear & Loathing... so simply wasn't as suited to be filmed. I worry that the same may apply to the upcoming release of On the Road, which I can't read without voicing Kerouac's distinctive voice throughout.

 

[rwtrwt]

I was in the movei store about to get the hangover 2 when a friend came in and reccomended "the Rum Diaries"... I wish i would have gotten the hangover 2 instead tbh. 1 star

 

[L2R]

^nice write up 8)

finally saw this today, it was an enjoyable little drama with some pretty pictures. had some cool thoughts and messages throughout. 3.5/5 (voted 3).

 

[ForEverAfter]

I'm glad I haven't read the book yet. If I had, I'd probably dislike the adaptation. Depp said recently that he wants to adapt all of Hunter's novels, one by one, playing the lead role in each. Personally, I hope he does. The Rum Diary is no Fear and Loathing. It is not epic; but it is a highly enjoyable film with a good cast and some terrific dialogue.

3.5/5 rounded down to 3 for the purposes of the poll. (It doesn't deserve 4.)

 

[Bardeaux]

I finally saw this a month or so ago, I must have forgotten to post in here. The entire time I was watching this I was making the mistake of trying to compare the film to the book, which probably influenced my overall opinion of the film. On it's own it was enjoyable, I wasn't really expecting as much comedy as I found the novel to be a little more on the dramatic side, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

In conclusion: the book was better

 

[jackie jones]

I enjoyed it very much. I found the camaraderie between the characters to be touching.

 

[OTGee]

I saw this a while ago online and I have to say it could have been better but it was still a pretty good film. Anyone who isn't a HST fan or a watcher of a lot of films has told me its not good and a little boring though, I thought it was one of the best films I had seen in a while. I especially like seeing his first LSD experience on film. HST says 'We need to get some more of that stuff' when it is aparently coming down and that line has stuck with me, I really just thought it was awesome haha.

 

[apiffini]

I love how everyone keeps calling it "The Rum Diaries".

I saw the film recently and read the book 2 or 3 years ago. I liked the movie but didn't love it, it really isn't comparable to the book though, it just feels like 75% of it is missing. The main problem I have though is there's no Yeoman. Even if that's supposed to be Sanderson in the film it didn't feel like that character was present.

I can't imagine what watching it would be like if you didn't read the book, but if you DID read the book there's no way you can be satisfied with the film.

 

[DexterMeth]

I was in the movei store about to get the hangover 2 when a friend came in and reccomended "the Rum Diaries"... I wish i would have gotten the hangover 2 instead tbh. 1 star

lmao.
I'll have to check this flick out.

 

[L2R]

the retarded australian distributor of this film are marketting it as: the head bending comedy of the year. it opens here tomorrow.



essentially ensuring that anyone who goes to watch it based on this claim (and to see a blood shot eyed johnny depp) will be sorely disappointed.

 

[DexterMeth]

Google translate fail


I just got "Day of the Jackal" in on Netflix. Rum Diary is next.

 

[ForEverAfter]

the retarded australian distributor of this film are marketting it as: the head bending comedy of the year. it opens here tomorrow.

essentially ensuring that anyone who goes to watch it based on this claim (and to see a blood shot eyed johnny depp) will be sorely disappointed.

It is one of those films that is impossible to market both honestly and financially. In order for niche/cult films to be produced with large budgets, the masses must be lied to. Fuck them. I'm happy for them to waste their money on cinema tickets so I can see high-quality Hunter S. Thompson adaptations.

 

[L2R]

they could have sold it on depp + "that guy from the dark knight" + the genuinely intriguing story
but no, they lamed out with bullshit shows what they think of the audience

 

[pacmanchomps]

i dont think any movie can live up tho the novel. With maybe a few exceptions . Rum Dairies was okay though. Might watch again. I wanna see a biopic. That man had an interesting life.

 

[ForEverAfter]

i dont think any movie can live up tho the novel. With maybe a few exceptions.

I very much disagree. The problem is not whether the medium of film is inferior to that of literature; rather, it is film-makers insistence upon adapting unsuitable subject matter to the screen. Some stories are more suited to being told in 250-500 pages; others are more suited to being told in 90-120 minutes. The fact that most novel-to-film adaptations fail to maintain the essence of the original story does not imply that film adaptations are incapable of living up to novels.

If you try repeatedly to breed a pig with a wolf, and fail, that does not imply that the pig is sterile.

they could have sold it on depp + "that guy from the dark knight" + the genuinely intriguing story

I guess I don't care if they sold it as something it's not so idiots, and people unfamiliar with Thompson, would widen the small cult audience that the film deserves. The film does not deserve a big box office pull. It is not a crowd-pleasing commercially viable project. Much less crowd-pleasing and commercially viable than Fear and Loathing. It has been destined for cult status from the beginning.

but no, they lamed out with bullshit (...) shows what they think of the audience

As a fan of Thompson, I don't see why you care. However these films get made or marketed doesn't matter. We should be grateful, if anything, that they are actually being produced. It's taken a long time to get this one off the ground. Try pitching to an investor. Try pitching something commercially viable. Even Johnny Depp with his huge celebrity draw struggled (a lot) to get The Rum Diary funded.

So they gave it a tacky catch phrase. "The head bending comedy of the year." Who cares, seriously? As for "them" not caring about the audience. Who are "they"? People investing millions of dollars in a film that has repeatedly struggled to get made, and swapped directors, and gone through dozens of script drafts; people investing millions of dollars in a film that probably won't make much of a profit, if any at all; people paying for films that deserved to be made regardless of commercial viability, simply so we can watch them?

Investors that fund projects like this one do care about the audience.

They care about the films.

That's the only reason they get made; due to the generosity of wealthy art lovers.

Somewhere along the way, from their pockets to the DVD store, a catch phrase is implemented.

Big deal.

 

[ugly]

I watched it 3 times back to back if I remember right.

I loved everything about it.

I have an unexplainable adoration of Johnny Depp. My GOD I absolutely love him like no other celebrity I ever have or will.

BESIDES Hunter, who was a damn good looking young man and the fact that he and Johnny were pretty close buddies gives me a reason to keep breathing.

If there is one thing I wish I could have had in this life, it would have been an evening spent with the two of them at the ranch.

 

[jackie jones]

To see this film and fear and loathing sold at walmart twists my mind in the same way that seeing John Lennon and Bob Dylan albums sold there does. They do not belong there, yet their influences are reaching the masses. I just hate to see such works sold alongside rubbish.

 

[ForEverAfter]

I don't mean to be pedantic, but doesn't the presence of shit bother you more than the presence of greatness?

I just hate to see such works sold alongside rubbish.

Shouldn't you hate to see rubbish-sold-alongside-such-works, rather than the other way round? I mean, shouldn't walmart be full of things like Hunter and Lennon? Why do they not belong there? Because they are outnumbered? Like if the store is full of mostly shit, they should just make it a shit store? Or is it the actual chain that bothers; Walmart being unworthy, in your opinion, of distributing quality music/literature... Personally, I like being able to access quality literature in as many places as possible. For competitive prices. Book stores are closing down. It makes me happy to see Hunter on a shelf with a price-tag. Doesn't matter what the location is. I'd be happy if I saw Fear and Loathing being sold in a police station. Or a brothel. Or by a homeless person. Or the pope. Or a penguin. Or Dan Browne, himself. Hell, I'd be happy if they had a promotional deal at the Gap, and gave away a copy of his books/films with every purchase.

 

[jackie jones]

^Thompson used the term "Greedheads" to describe those behind corporations. To have them capitalizing upon his works seems wrong to me. Also, it marginalizes his works to those who are not yet familiar with them by selling them alongside nonsensical works.

 

[ugly]

^Thompson used the term "Greedheads" to describe those behind corporations. To have them capitalizing upon his works seems wrong to me. Also, it marginalizes his works to those who are not yet familiar with them by selling them alongside nonsensical works.

True, BUT for every 1200 people that waddle through Walmart, 2 of them will buy Hunter's books. They will be converted to the Thompson way of thinking. They will watch his biographies on Netflix. They will get the truth he was trying to tell us. Even if only 2 or 3 people a year read one of HTS's books, eventually his visions will become part of the collective conscious. Hunter would have liked that.