JOHNNY Depp, a close friend of American writer Hunter S Thompson, takes another swig from his pal's literary musings with The Rum Diary, written for the screen and directed by Bruce Robinson (Withnail & I).
The booze flows freely as journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) heads to Puerto Rico to take up a position on The San Juan.
There he enjoys rum-soaked island life and forges an alliance with local businessman Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart) who is plotting to transform the island into a capitalist paradise.
Sanderson hires Paul to write the promotional material. However, Paul is far more interested in Sanderson's trophy fiancee Chenault (Amber Heard).
The Rum Diary is a blur of strange and sometimes amusing vignettes.
Depp holds it together with his theatrics and fans of Thompson's work will revel in his vision of the era. For the rest of us, it's a cinematic hangover that tells us to never drink from Thompson's ink well again.
