470: The Rum Diary

[00:00:01] [SPEAKER_00]: 177, let's get to a random film this time, which I figured every once in a while when

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: there are slow periods or I don't have enough space to do a whole franchise, I figured I

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: can knock out some random indie movies that are fairly unattached and I might not otherwise

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_00]: cover in a collection bonus show.

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you have any recommendations, suggestions, stuff you'd like to see on the show, please

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: let me know through the contact information in the show notes.

[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get to The Rum Diary, which came out in 2011.

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: It's based off the book by Hunter S. Thompson, directed by Bruce Robinson who hasn't really

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_00]: done that much else.

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Stars Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi, Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli,

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Richard Jenkins, pretty good cast.

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And the synopsis is, American journalist Paul Kemp takes on a freelance job in Puerto

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Rico for a local newspaper during the 1960s and struggles to find a balance between island

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: culture and the ex-patriots who live there.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_00]: So I remember when this one came out, it did not do very well financially, it

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_00]: flopped pretty hard.

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I only saw it I believe once it came out on Blu-ray, didn't know anything about

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: other than it had Johnny Depp and this was still really right before Johnny Depp really

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: declined.

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_00]: This is also where he met Amber Heard.

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I knew a little bit about Hunter S. Thompson, I'd seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I'd seen many interviews with Johnny Depp talking about him because they were good

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_00]: friends and I've read bits and pieces of Thompson's work and it's even to this

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: day very very unique and way ahead of its time.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And I've seen it a good handful of times, maybe five or six times over the years and

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: it's one of those films that is so in its own little world of Hollywood.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: It has a big budget, it's got this great cast, it's this very original random unpredictable

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_00]: meandering journey sort of story.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And I understand why some people don't love it, you know I've read some reviews on Letterboxd

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: and other places where it's too unfocused for some people, it just doesn't really hit

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: them in the right way for whatever reason and I get it, it's not one for everybody

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_00]: because it is so plotless.

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_00]: But to me, I find this movie to be so refreshing, it's so impactful, it has

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_00]: great tone, it's got some really really funny moments, Johnny Depp is hilarious in this

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_00]: but it's also got some really sincere biting commentary on politics, on society as a

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: whole that Hunter S. Thompson is most well known for in his writing.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: There are so many points where I'm thinking wow like that is so true.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Probably my favorite line in the whole movie where Johnny Depp is talking to Amber Heard

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_00]: on Aaron Eckhart's boat and she's saying hey you know you've written stuff, like

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_00]: you have value, like you should feel proud of what you've done.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And he goes now I have no voice and then he pauses for a second and says I don't

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: know how to write like me.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that is like, that speaks, I think any sort of writer, artist, creator,

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: anything along those lines I think that is one of the most hitting the nail on the

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_00]: head lines for someone who wants to create something in a certain way.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: They obviously have a voice because they're an individual but they cannot get, as in

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_00]: this case, cannot get the words out and the story out in the right way to where

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: you feel alright this is me, this is my vision, it's just a mess for him.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And so I think that is, I love that line so much and it hits me every time.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Besides that the Puerto Rico setting, beautiful and I think that they do a good

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: job of showing the beauty of a location no matter what country or wherever it

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: might be, showing the beauty of that place but also showing problems whether

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: it's poverty or crime or whatever else and I think it does a good realistic

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: to my knowledge just as a normal person of showing the black and the white of

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_00]: some part of the world.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: This is also one of Aaron Eckhart's better movies.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: He just, of course he was in The Dark Knight which I think will always be

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: his best movie.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't always have the best track record in my opinion and I think

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: he has a lot of duds and he's a better actor than I think a lot of his

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: may give credit to but he's very good in this, fits that sort of sleazy,

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_00]: sketchy businessman very well.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Amber Heard and Johnny Depp are like, I can understand why they went on to be

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: a couple because they are perfect in this movie together.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_00]: The chemistry, even everything from the costume design for both of them,

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean for everyone in the movie but for them especially, very, very strong

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: in every respect.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And as the title suggests, it's called The Rum Diary so there is a alcohol

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: fueled, drug fueled aspect to the movie which is typical with Hunter S.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Thompson as it is with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I think I prefer this one over that one.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: That's just me though.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: To me this one feels a lot more grounded.

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_00]: The drunk sequences and all that stuff, I think at this point that sort of

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: sequence, especially if it's playing for humor and for crazy psychedelic visuals,

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a little bored of that.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: That part of the movie would honestly be my, ironically would be my least

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: favorite part.

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I think the best part is the relationship between Johnny Depp and Amber

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Heard and then that triangle with Aaron Eckhart.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: That's really the core of the movie.

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I feel like the third act is a little long.

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I sort of lose focus when it comes to that part in some points because it gets

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_00]: the main group of characters breaks up and then Johnny Depp goes off on his own

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: with his friend Sal to try and print one last newspaper with all these really

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: shocking bit pieces and all that.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: And for better or worse, I just don't care about that as much within the

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: context of the story.

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a good idea throughout the movie but I feel like they spend a little

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: too much time on that towards the end where for most of the narrative,

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_00]: that's not the focus.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: At least that's what I got.

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So the third act would be the weakest part of the movie.

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Not that it's bad but that's where the excitement, the allure,

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_00]: the comedy drops off a little bit.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Some standout sequences though where Johnny Depp is going to Aaron

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Eckhart's house and he sees through the telescope Amber Heard and

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: having sex out on the boat and Johnny Depp's reactions like physical facial

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: expressions in this movie are probably some of his best in his whole career.

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Like it's so nuanced and so funny every single time and he is again,

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_00]: he is so good in this.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00]: The sequence where they're being chased by the angry people from the

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: restaurant and they are using the alcohol bottle to blow fire and then

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: they get wound up in court and then they go back and find their car and they

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_00]: have to, Johnny Depp and Sal, his friend, that is they have to sit on top

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_00]: of each other and ride through the city.

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_00]: That's hysterical.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: The carnival sequence where Amber Heard really goes off on her own and

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: pisses everybody off.

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_00]: The conversations that Johnny Depp has with Aaron Eckhart's group about

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: them trying to monetize Puerto Rico and these surrounding islands,

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I think that still really hits in terms of a economical societal commentary

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and how people can take advantage of certain locations of certain types of

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_00]: people based on where they are in the world or whatever else it might be.

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So this movie is, of all the movies that Johnny Depp has done,

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: but also of 2010's one-off standalone films, I think this is one of the most

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_00]: underrated that I can think of off the top of my head.

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Every time I watch it, I'm like, this movie is so good and I wish it had

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_00]: done better because of all the movies that do well nowadays,

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_00]: regardless of what kind of film it is, I think this really deserves to

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_00]: have more of an audience and I think the story is so out there that I

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_00]: guess it's hard for some people to latch onto it or get engaged because

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_00]: they have no context for it, but give it a chance, give it a rewatch

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_00]: because there's so much there.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_00]: So that one is a heavy four out of five.