The Rum Diary

Johnny Depp stars in this chaotic, highly romanticized tale as principled but disheveled itinerant journalist Paul Kemp, who travels to Puerto Rico in 1960, during the latter years of the Eisenhower era. Adopting Hawaiian-print shirts and embracing an intoxicated lifestyle, Kemp goes to work for cynical, cigar-chomping Lotterman (Richard Jenkins), the editor of the failing English-language newspaper The San Juan Star. Kemp soon finds himself cohabiting and co-conspiring with Sala (Michael Rispoli), a grizzled, world-weary photographer, and Moburg (Giovanni Ribisi), an eccentric columnist who introduces the pair to hallucinogenic drugs. When not ingesting various unspecified substances, they're plotting subversive opposition to the luxury-hotel-building scheme hatched by a nefarious group of neocolonialist real estate developers, led by a corrupt entrepreneur named Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), who lives in a luxurious beach house, drives a Corvette, and cavorts with sexy fiancée Chenault (Amber Heard). As the story goes, Hunter S. Thompson showed Depp an unpublished manuscript for The Rum Diary before committing suicide in 2005. Depp decided to honor Thompson's gonzo legacy, leaving the episodic adaptation and directing chores to Bruce Robinson, who elicits what might best be termed a sloshy, “minimalist” performance from the actor in this boozy, incoherent film that essentially tanked at the box office. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The Rum Diary Back-Story” featurette (46 min.), “A Voice Made of Ink and Rage” behind-the-scenes featurette (13 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)