A Little Hunter in Us All
Before portraying himself in the dueling lawsuits between him and Amber Heard (you might have seen something about this), Johnny Depp has played versions of writer & Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson in two films. There is the very good Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and the less stellar The Rum Diary. I don't fault him for wanting to run around playing another thinly veiled version of Hunter S. It looks like a fun time, but it would be great to see someone else get a shot at interpreting the doctor's many gonzo ways.
When Depp was just a teenage, the first crack at making a movie of HST's antics was released. Where the Buffalo Roam was released starring Bill Murray in his most understated of roles. He’d just finished his 3rd season of Saturday Night Live and was leaving the show. It’s likely he was out to prove something.
Murray is surprisingly subdued possible because he didn't want to risk Thompson's legendary ire if he fucked it up. Mimicking Hunter’s famous muttering, gestures and mayhem causing ways which he seemed to need to reach his journalistic bouts of clarity, Murray is good enough. The film lumbers a bit at times, but is ultimately saved by Peter Boyle stealing scenes as Thompson's lunatic lawyer Carl Lazlo.
I highly recommend watching both the Depp and Murray films as a reasonable guide as you pack up your illicit supplies & firearms for your very own bender road trip. Imitation is the highest form of flattery even if none of us could ever do it as well as Hunter. Even the dead HST would agree “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”