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The Rum Diary (2011)

tomatometer

50

Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 159
Fresh: 80 | Rotten: 79

It's colorful and amiable enough, and Depp's heart is clearly in the right place, but The Rum Diary fails to add sufficient focus to its rambling source material.

46

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 21

It's colorful and amiable enough, and Depp's heart is clearly in the right place, but The Rum Diary fails to add sufficient focus to its rambling source material.

audience

37

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 42,115

My Rating

Movie Info

Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson. Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins). Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson is

Feb 14, 2012

$13.1M

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All Critics (163) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (79) | DVD (4)

It's funny as hell in places and touchingly warm.

November 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Writer/director Robinson is anything but disciplined... and he's more inclined to just turn the camera on and let Depp do his thing. Which Depp does very well, but as talented and watchable as he is, even he can't completely save the picture.

October 31, 2011 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comments (2)
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Rum Diary has no mighty gonzo wind. Even with a push from its Thompson-worshipping star, Johnny Depp, it leaves our freak flag limp.

October 31, 2011 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comments (3)
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Maybe Depp just doesn't want to upstage his hero.

October 29, 2011 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The supporting cast of journalistic riffraff is uniformly excellent.

October 28, 2011 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There was a reason "The Rum Diary" didn't find a publisher until a late-in-life Thompson resurgence, and it's clearer still in this adaptation - there's no real drama here.

October 28, 2011 Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | Comments (10)
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An entertaining but misfired take on the formative years of famed Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

March 4, 2013 Full Review Source: Concrete Playground
Concrete Playground

Depp and writer-director Bruce Robinson ("Withnail & I") pack the script with pithy Hunter-isms, hurling many of Thompson's euphonious locutions at us right from the opening scene.

December 30, 2012 Full Review Source: McClatchy-Tribune News Service
McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Intriguing performances help The Rum Diary successfully capture the spirit of the source material -- even if the result is a scattered piece of filmmaking.

October 2, 2012 Full Review Source: ScreenRant
ScreenRant

Perhaps this material works better as a novel, where Thompson would have been able to take his time developing each story as it occurred, but as a film, it just doesn't work.

September 18, 2012 Full Review Source: Examiner.com
Examiner.com

Of obvious interest to Thompson acolytes and of no obvious interest to anyone else. As a fan of Thompson and Robinson, I enjoyed the film's laid-back shagginess.

April 30, 2012 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

A sprawling, superficial, sporadic story that fails to live up the expectations of it's inspiration, it's star and the previous cinematic incarnations of the man.

April 26, 2012 Full Review Source: 2UE That Movie Show
2UE That Movie Show

Feels like its been squeezed out of a tube rather than shot out of a canon.

April 2, 2012 Full Review Source: Screenwize
Screenwize

For the most part, it's just plodding along with the occasional dash of humour.

March 21, 2012 Full Review Source: ABC Radio Brisbane
ABC Radio Brisbane

It's been so fabulously written, wonderfully acted; Depp is no stranger to representing the essence of Thompson and he's brilliant.

March 20, 2012 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia)
At the Movies (Australia)

It's sort of chaotic. It swings around all over the place but it's nicely done. It's nicely acted and Johnny Depp's terrific.

March 20, 2012 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | Comment (1)
At the Movies (Australia)

Johnny Depp gets lost in paradise and a film with no plot.

March 16, 2012 Full Review Source: The Popcorn Junkie
The Popcorn Junkie

After all the promise of a perfect cocktail, The Rum Diary quickly becomes like being the only sober person at a party where everyone else is absolutely trashed.

March 14, 2012 Full Review Source: The Vine
The Vine

.. engaging and entertaining, at times deadly serious in its own way, with lots to say . . . a satisfying and often funny telling of a great true story

March 11, 2012 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile
Urban Cinefile

You can smell the debauchery in this rum-soaked Caribbean paradise where truth plays tug-of-war against complacency...It's a heady tale with seductive elements and Depp waltzes brilliantly into the tailor-made role

March 11, 2012 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile
Urban Cinefile

Because the pace and trajectory changes so noticeably, "The Rum Diary" almost feels like three different films. Some may like that; I didn't.

January 31, 2012 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

Audience Reviews for The Rum Diary

Paul Kemp: Why did she have to happen? Just when I was doing so good without her. 

"One part outrage. One part justice. Three parts rum. Mix well."

One thing you have to know before going into any Hunter S. Thompson adaption is that he is very polarizing, as are his books, and as are the films based on his books. Very seldom do you hear somebody say, "Oh yeah, Hunter Thompson is alright." No. You hear them say either, "I love Thompson" or "I hate Thompson." As for me, I love him. I've read many of his books, including The Rum Diary and have seen all the adaptions. This one falls between Where the Buffalo Roam and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, in my opinion. It's slightly better then Where the Buffalo Roam, but not quite as good as Fear and Loathing.

Our character in this one is Paul Kemp. He is a writer who moves down to Puerto Rico to take a job on a newspaper that is tanking big time. Paul is what you call an alcoholic. He drinks, drinks, and drinks some more. He happens to meet a girl that is taken by a very powerful man in Puerto Rico, who wants to use Paul to help him make some big money. If you know Thompson, you know that his stories aren't very plot oriented, nor are they extremely character driven. There more... substance driven, then anything else.

The best thing about The Rum Diary is the cast. Johnny Depp plays Kemp in a return to Thompson role. Then there's a supporting cast of Aaron Rckhart, Michael Rispoli, Giovanni Ribsi, and the extremely beautiful Amber Heard. Their all pretty good. I especially liked Ribsi in a very bizarre, drunken role. His character is really "out there" and he plays "out there" very well. As does Johnny Depp.

The Rum Diary isn't a perfect movie, not even close. Adaptions of Thompson books aren't easy to make. The material doesn't make for a straightforward story on screen. The great thing about his works are how chaotic they are. There's nothing sensical going on in them; read and watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for a perfect example of how chaotic his works can be. If you're a fan of Thompson, I think you should be able to get a good amount of enjoyment from this adaption of his debut novel. This isn't a great film, but it is a good deal of fun.
July 29, 2012
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

Directed (and written) by Bruce Robinson, GK Films, 2011. Starring Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Jenkins, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli and Aaron Eckhart.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Question: What would your reaction be if you were hired to work for a failing newspaper, the editor doesn't care for the writers at all, you have a bit of alcohol problem and you can't find your writer's "voice"? Well, you actually have more problems than that but I won't give the whole movie away. However, I just saw The Rum Diary - a movie based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson and that's what's this movie is about, mostly.

If I were in a situation like that, my reaction, if you must know, would look like this: I would write about what I love (movies), really hope Karma works because payback's a bitch, have a few glasses of red wine or maybe I should try a gin and tonic, realize most days are like Fridays (best day of the week) because I had my "voice" all along. I would also befriend the staff at the newspaper because that's what creative minds do..find a support system that actually understands you. But this movie isn't about me now, is it?

I must say right off the bat - that the preview I saw for The Rum Diary was bit misleading. It portrayed the film as a comedy or a really offbeat story. Now, don't get me wrong, there were parts where I smiled and even giggled but I would call this a drama. Also, I am unclear why it was also listed as a mystery & thriller by IMDb. I didn't find it to be either.

The Rum Diary is about a man, Paul Kemp played by Johnny Depp, who moves to San Juan to write for a newspaper. He is an unpublished novelist who doesn't have faith in himself as a writer and he's a bit of a lost man. However, when he gets down to Puerto Rico he gets sidetracked when he becomes in involved with some unscrupulous people. Paul Kemp has a bit (understatement) of a drinking problem but apparently everyone on the island likes to drink rum. That's it - no more detail about the story.

I started off liking the film, it was quick, funny and I enjoyed meeting all the characters. However, the movie slowed down a bit towards the middle - to almost a standstill and I got a little bored. In fact, I almost stopped caring about the characters including the lead. I am not sure the vision of the book translated well to the screen but since I didn't read the book I can't be certain. Plus, something was off with the editing of The Rum Diary. It seemed like scenes were either cut short, cut out completely or some just added in to show off the dialogue. (I'll get the dialogue in a minute.)

There was one thing that I loved throughout this film: the dialogue. It was brilliant. I want to leave some quotes here but there were so many I could share that I don't think I could pick just one. Hunter S. Thompson was a stellar writer with his own unique vision of how to describe things. For that alone I would recommend the movie. Plus, Johnny Depp delivered the lines beautifully and in such a subtle way. I really want to see it again just for dialogue.

There is some narration in the beginning and then it picked up again at the end. Not sure why there wasn't much in the middle. I believe it would have helped when the story stagnated. Anyway, if you are writer and if you have ever struggled with it - and you know we all have - this story might just inspire you.

My favorite thing: So many great quotes. Wish I could manipulate words that brilliantly.

My least favorite thing: I got a little bored.

Rating: R
Length: 120 minutes

Review: 5 out of 10
November 4, 2011
Tired of Previews
Tired of Previews

Super Reviewer

    1. Moburg: If the Bibleīs Godīs book, why didnīt he give it to everyone?
    – Submitted by Angela T (13 months ago)
    1. Lotterman: Did you see the side of his nose? Blackheads like braille.
    – Submitted by Angela T (13 months ago)
    1. Paul Kemp: Human beings are the only creatures on Earth that claim a God, and the only living things that behave like they haven't got one.
    – Submitted by Amir V (14 months ago)
    1. Paul Kemp: Nowadays, people know the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
    – Submitted by Jayfel C (14 months ago)
    1. Sanderson: I thought you weren't gonna drink again?
    2. Paul Kemp: I wasn't but I finally beat my will power.
    – Submitted by Richard D (15 months ago)
    1. Paul Kemp: Oh God, why did she have to happen? Just when I was doing so good without her.
    – Submitted by Marco S (18 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Rum Diary (DE)
  • Rhum Express (FR)
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