Johnny Depp's pisspoor movie The Rum Diary has been found wanting by several reviewers other than Walt. But it has succeeded in winning one back-handed accolade, having been chosen by TheWrap as one of this year's Top Ten Turkeys -- 2011's biggest critical and box-office duds.
One -- or rather, the producers -- might have expected more. Johnny Depp is a Name, a Hollywood star you can count on to make a profit. His movies have brought in an astronomical $7.67 billion across the globe over the course of his career. But not this one.
Costing $45 million to make [How could you spend $45 million Puerto Rico? Ed.], The Rum Diary grossed just $19.1 million so far. That makes it Depp's least successful film since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which, coincidentally, wasl also based on the actor's close friend, the late Hunter S. Thompson, the father of Gonzo Journalism.
It was perhaps an even greater disappointment for director Bruce Robinson, who hadn't directed a film since 1992 (Jennifer 8). The Wrap tells us he was battling with alcohol and writer's block while penning the screenplay. So that explains at least part of the problem.
Walt wonders what Depp was struggling with. Was it vile substances like ibogaine? Or was it the hubris of thinking that he -- or anyone -- could portray HST on the silver screen?
Click here to read The Wrap's review, "Johnny Depp phones it in".
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