“THE RUM DIARY” My rating: C- (Opening wide on Oct. 28)
120 minutes | MPAA rating: R
“The Rum Diary” is such a drab affair it bears mentioning only as an example of how great movies stars can squander their popularity.
“Rum” marks the second time actor Johnny Depp has played famed gonzo journalist Hunter M. Thompson (actually here he plays a Thompson-like character). One can only assume that Depp finds inspiration or at the very least an acting challenge in portraying the chemically-addled, terminally sardonic writer/wastrel.
His first outing as Thompson was 1998’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” a surreal pigout that was fairly faithful to the book but still unremarkable.
“Rum” is based on Thompson’s autobiographical novel about his early career as a newspaperman in the Caribbean.
The trailers make it look like a laugh-heavy dip into debauchery beneath the palms — all drink, drugs and beautiful women.
In truth, this is a sour, joyless tale of idealism run aground. And that would be acceptable if the film were better made.
But in the hands of writer/director Bruce Robinson this film lacks urgency, direction, tension and even any significant humor. It’s a bit like a lazy day spent drinking on a beach. Nice scenery, but after a while boredom sets in.
Paul Kemp (Depp) arrives in 1960 Puerto Rico to take a reporting job on a floundering English-language paper. He’s a loser for whom this gig could very well be the last stop.
Kemp quickly falls under the influence of a drunken, pessimistic staff photographer (Michael Rispoli), but nevertheless stumbles across what he thinks could be a terrific muckraking story.
A smarmy, charismatic American named Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart) is hatching a scheme to buy an island currently used by the U.S. Navy for artillery practice and turn it into a paradise for rich Yankee tourists. To do so Sanderson will have to resort to bribes and illegalities, and he wants Kemp to write brochures and newspaper stories that will support his endeavor.
Although he takes from Sanderson cash and a snazzy convertible (and casts covetous eyes on Sanderson’s beautiful young mistress, played by Amber Heard), Kemp schemes to expose the corrupt deal.
Unfortunately his editor (Richard Jenkins) is in the pocket of the monied interests who run things behind the scenes.
Depp’s Kemp is actually Thompson Lite…he’s not yet the wild and crazy guy of the Rolling Stone years…in fact he’s not very interesting at all.
There’s a smattering of Thompson-esque dialogue here that briefly grabs our attention. For example, Kemp is told to produce a horoscope column because the previous writer has been “raped to death” in a public restroom frequented by sailors.
“You’re not artistic, are you?” his editor wants to know.
Nice one.
Word on the street is that “Rum Diary” was completed two years ago and has been gathering dust. No doubt it will soon return to its cozy shelf.
| Robert W. Butler
Butler's Cinema Scene 
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