The Rum Diary

Bottom Line: Hunter S. Thompson may have lived an interesting life, but this movie isn’t.

The Gist: Johnny Depp plays Paul Kemp, the semi-autobiographical anti-hero of Thompson’s novel. A rum-swilling journalist from New York, Kemp arrives in Puerto Rico in the ’50s, already calling out the fakers, posers, and hypocrites of even that little island. While going on many misadventures with the flotsam of what can loosely be called journalists, he meets the luminescent beauty Chenault (Amber Heard), the mistress of a wealthy island phony.

The Verdict: Skip it. It could have been funny or enlightening or both, but it really is just kind of dull. Heard, however, fills up the screen with Marilyn Monroe-esque glamour.

Be Aware: Rated R for language, drug use and sexuality.