The Rum Diary

Impressions before seeing it
I actually wasn't too big on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Johnny Depp's other Hunter S. Thompson film, but this one wasn't marketing itself as a weird drug trip so I thought it might be fun.

How was it?
The difference between this movie and Fear and Loathing is that this one's not about Hunter S. Thompson, it's just based on one of his books. There is one drug trip scene, but encapsulated in a more coherent movie such as this one, it's not maddeningly insane. It actually turned out to be an anti-capitalism morality tale, but honestly it didn't quite feel like the film cared as much about its own message as its characters were supposed to, and as a result I didn't either. But it's okay, because I actually had a lot of fun watching Depp and his sidekick (Michael Rispoli) bumble around beautiful Puerto Rico; Giovanni Ribisi's performance reminded me of the kind of cartoon character who is always involved in explosions and coming out of it with a blackened face; and Amber Heard was ridiculously gorgeous. There were scenes that had me laughing, and I was never bored in the entire two hours, and that makes The Rum Diary a success. Maybe not a complete one, because it feels like it's not sure whether it wants to be taken seriously or not (and that may be what is responsible for the weakening of its theme), but a success nonetheless.

Recommendation
As a piece of entertainment, it's a fun watch - especially if you enjoy a nice tropical setting and some light comedy. I can see why it didn't get a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth watching.