Johnny Depp plays Kemp, an alcoholic journalist in Puerto Rico in the early 1960’s, stumbling around a paradise island in a drunken stupor, and learning about plans to displace locals in the name of greed from a playboy buisnessman named Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson, the movie stalls midway though the second reel, and ends up feeling like a bad hangover…fuzzy and tiring.

We’ve seen this type of drunken and cynical character from Depp many times before in his Pirates repertoire. This time he is enjoying the beautiful scenery of the island, as he simultaneously tries to understand the local culture, deal with the ‘ugly Americans’, and make a living as a newspaper horoscope writer. Along the way he encounters a small enclave of expatriates, all of who seem like dysfunctional and self-absorbed losers. Eventually Kemp sobers up enough to try and fight the establishment, with the help of his dengenerative friends.

Now, this biting criticism does not mean the movie is a complete waste, for there are some moments of levity, that while not laugh-out-loud funny, do offer the viewer a chance to guffaw at some of the ‘duck out of water’ events that happen to Kemp. Yet at the same time, we never really capture the true essence of the internal struggle, something that probably plays out much better in the book. So much potential that just doesn’t quite seem fullfilled by the time the credits role.

Depp fans will enjoy his usual role, and there are some standout performances from co-stars that are noteworthy. Otherwise, I felt lost on this island of a film.