Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Today's film is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  Wow, this is the first time I have laughed out loud so much at any film.

There's not really much of a plot.  Raoul Duke and his Samoan lawyer, Dr. Gonzo, travel in a candy apple convertible from LA to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race in the desert.  Raoul Duke is played by Johnny Depp channeling Hunter S. Thompson.  His performance was outrageously funny and he made the entire movie.  Just his eyes darting back and forth and his reactions to everything elicited a laugh.  Dr. Gonzo, played by Benicio Del Toro, is not as funny as Johnny Depp, but his character provides most of the craziness.  Neither one is a very stable person, and we join them on their drug-filled escapades.

One scene I found funny but was unexpected was when Dr. Gonzo and Duke are attending a conference of DA's and drug enforcement officers.  Yeah, really.  They're surrounded by police who specialize in taking down drug addicts while doing drugs at the same hotel.  Anyway, one of the speakers has many things to say about marijuana, all wrong, and I realized something that I wouldn't have if I weren't a parent to a toddler.  The speaker is Mr. Noodle from Elmo's World (a part of Sesame Street).

It's Mr. Noodle!

Dr. Gonzo and Duke do so many drugs that the writer of the story (Hunter S. Thompson) ran out of drugs.  He invented a new one, adrenichrome, based on adrenaline.  I want to go back and say one of the funniest scenes is when Duke checks into the Mint Hotel while tripping on acid, and the front desk lady turns into an eel.  The whole film itself is a total trip.  And it's a fun one too.  I enjoyed watching this film so much.  I will give it an 8/10.