Hunter Thompson documentary uneven

By JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, July 2, 2008 12:15 PM PDT ∞

Because he was associated so strongly with his highly idiosyncratic style of writing, books and films about the late author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson all seem to fall into the trap of trying to emulate his "gonzo" style. A new documentary about the popular author and longtime Rolling Stone magazine contributor makes that same mistake, unfortunately. When you add in a general lack of focus, "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson" is as disappointing as the two feature films based on Thompson's writings have been.

As with 1980's "Where the Buffalo Roam" and 1998's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Gonzo" tries to capture the manic and fantastical style of Thompson's writing. But just as top-notch actors Bill Murray and Johnny Depp ultimately failed to fully capture the combination of counter-culture alienation and utter absurdism that make up Thompson's best writing, so does "Gonzo."

Watching this two-hour documentary leaves one wondering whether director/writer/producer Alex Gibney knew what he wanted this film to be. At times it wanders so far afield from the title's subject that it's a bit jarring when the film returns to the topic of Thompson. A montage on Richard Nixon's involvement with Watergate and Vietnam, and another, even longer, segment on George McGovern's 1972 campaign, go minute after minute with no mention of Thompson at all. Cutting out this extraneous material (and really, is any fan of Thompson so completely unfamiliar with these historical events that we need detailed background on them?) would shorten the film and make for an easier, more coherent viewing.

Even that's not the least of the film's shortcomings: There's a lack of flow that derives from the fact that Gibney veers from archival footage of Thompson (including an appearance on "To Tell the Truth" after publication of his ground-breaking book "Hell's Angels") to re-enactments of moments from his book to clips from the two above feature films to weird attempts at psychedelic filmmaking circa 1968.

And yet, given all the effort to be edgy and weird and hip, the film's best moments are those in which Thompson's friends, family and even adversaries simply sit and recollect his life and writing. From contemporary participatory journalist Tom Wolfe to singer and friend Jimmy Buffett, from Hell's Angels president Sonny Barger to Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner, from George McGovern and Gary Hart to Jimmy Carter and Pat Buchanan, to his son Juan, both wives and longtime collaborator Ralph Steadman, people whose lives intertwined with Thompson's offer some pretty insightful thoughts on what made him tick.

Also effective at giving viewers a sense of who Thompson was are lengthy interviews he gave through the years, in which he admits openly that the caricature he created for himself had become a monster that was difficult to tame.

Much of "'Gonzo" covers familiar territory for anyone at all familiar with Thompson's career, and far too often the film is content to simply regurgitate existing myths.

But those moments when Thompson's wives or son speak wistfully of the simple moments shared with their husband and father, and the interviews where Thompson himself reflects on his own challenges ---- those shed some pretty illuminating light on the man who was probably the most influential American writer since Hemingway.

B-

"Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson"

Director: Alex Gibney

Studio: HDNet Films

Rated: R (for drug and sexual content, language and some nudity)

Running time: 119 mins.

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