Reviews, news, and features from the world of soused cinema
ALCOHOL--THE FABRIC OF FILM HISTORY IS SOGGY WITH THE STUFF. STILL, FILM HISTORIANS HAVE RARELY GIVEN BOOZE ITS DUE. THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT.
October 28th can't come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned. That's when The Rum Diary, the long-delayed film version of Hunter S. Thompson's novel of the same name, finally hits a multiplex near you (and hopefully near me). The project has been in and out of development since 2000, and the flick itself has been sitting on a shelf since filming was completed in 2009.
I guess it is only fitting that the movie version experienced delays, being that it is based on a novel that Thompson wrote in 1961 but remained unpublished until 1998. We can only hope that the film proves to be as successful and as enduring as the novel turned out to be.
Johnny Depp once again stars as a fictionalized version of Thompson. In The Rum Diary, his character is Paul Kemp, a younger and less drug-addled version of the writer than Raoul Duke of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). While Kemp is more clean cut in appearance than Duke, the newly released trailer indicates that the characters share a love of the bottle and a similar vocal tone.
The film was written and directed by Bruce Robinson of Withnail and I fame. On October 28th, it will be interesting to see how the sensibilities of Robinson and Hunter blend (or collide). In the meantime, we will have to be content with the taste provided by the first official trailer:
I think I'll watch it again, after I get a refill.
USA/C-95m./Dir: Corey Allen/Wr: William Hjortsberg/Cast: David Carradine (Harley Thomas), Kate Jackson (Nancy Sue Hunnicutt), Roger C. Carmel (Ralph Junior Hunnicutt), George Murdock (Jake Summers), Eddie Barth (Rudi Volpone), Claude Earl Jones (Carl), Sterling Holloway (Hobe Carpenter), Patrick Cranshaw (Taylor)
“It’s 250-proof fun!” promised the posters for Thunder and Lightning, a Roger Corman-produced moonshine and car chase quickie. 250-proof? There can be no such thing. 200-proof would indicate 100% alcohol, and it is impossible to have more than 100% of anything. The illogical tag line should have served as a warning to potential ticket buyers, because neither alcohol nor fun is much in evidence in Thunder and Lightning.
A post-Kung-Fu David Carradine stars as Harley Thomas, a hillbilly moonshine runner unofficially engaged to Nancy Sue Hunnicut (Kate Jackson), the daughter of a rich soda pop manufacturer (Roger C. Carmel). In truth, however, Nancy’s father is involved in much more than producing fizzy sugar water. His Honeydew soda plant is a front for a big-time moonshine operation funded by the mob. When Nancy finds out about her father’s dirty dealings, she convinces Harley to help her track down her dad’s latest delivery--a truck full of poison-tainted moonshine. Simultaneously, the mob, upset about the same poisoned brew, sends a couple of hitmen to rub out Nancy’s father. When Harley, Nancy, her father’s thugs, the hitmen, and the state police all speed down the same highway, car crashes, gunfire, and small explosions are sure to follow.
From start to finish, Thunder and Lightning shows all the earmarks of a hastily produced knockoff intended to capitalize on the mainstream success of Smokey and the Bandit (1977). Careful attention is given to any shots that would be used to promote the film. Car and boat chases, pyrotechnics, and even alligator wrasslin’ are all well choreographed and competently shot. However, little effort seems to have been given to any part of the picture that would not directly appear in the trailer.
The script is slapdash. The story jumps haphazardly from one unnecessary complication to another, characters are given actions with little or no motivation behind them, the dialogue is embarrassing, and attempts at humor are pathetic. Instead of a musical score, the film should have been accompanied by the buzzers and horns reserved for game show losers.
The production values are also lacking. The movie appears to have been edited with a hacksaw, making some action set pieces and scene transitions difficult to follow. Worse yet, the sound mix is deplorable. The actor’s voices are often muffled and incomprehensible beneath layers of background noise and music.
Another area of disappointment is the flick’s low alcohol content. Like most white lightning movies, Thunder and Lightning is about transporting liquor rather than consuming it. As a couple of independent moonshiners, Sterling “Winnie the Pooh” Holloway and Patrick “Blue” Cranshaw hoot with orgasmic delight as they ogle their home brew, but they are rudely interrupted before they get a chance to take a taste. Only David Carradine gets to imbibe, downing but a single swig near the beginning of the film. For the remainder of the running time, booze is discussed as a commodity and used as an explosive, instead of being sipped and savored.
The shortcomings of the film can’t be blamed on the cast. David Carradine and Kate Jackson make likeable leads, and it is always a pleasure to see Roger “Harry Mudd” Carmel play a rogue. Character actors such as Eddie Barth and Charles Napier also add a little spice to the brew. However, even the most amiable actors can’t overcome the deficiencies of the script. It should also be noted that none the leads manage to produce a believable Southern accent.
Despite a title that promises the action of the 1958 drive-in phenomenon Thunder Roadmixed with a tasty new batch of white lightning, Thunder and Lightning disappoints on all counts. It is a particularly weak brew.
Drinks Consumed--Moonshine (corn whiskey)
Intoxicating Effects--None. No one drinks enough to feel it.
Potent Quotables--HARLEY (taking a swig): Man! That is the best corn I’ve ever tasted.
HOBE: Yeah? Then you better savor every snootful of it. That’s the last cork between us and the temperance society.
HARLEY: Boys, we’ll have another run by the end of the week. You’ll see.
Similarly Sauced Cinema--Another drive-in moonshine action flick was released two months earlier than Thunder and Lightning, the more enjoyable Moonshine County Express.
I like to drink. I like to watch movies. I like to watch movies about drinking. I like to write about the movies I’ve watched, but only if I’ve had a drink first.
Greetings, fellow inebriates,
October 28th can't come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned. That's when The Rum Diary, the long-delayed film version of Hunter S. Thompson's novel of the same name, finally hits a multiplex near you (and hopefully near me). The project has been in and out of development since 2000, and the flick itself has been sitting on a shelf since filming was completed in 2009.
(20th Century Fox)
