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Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 5 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Directed by: Alex Gibney
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 4, 2008
DVD: November 18, 2008
Running Time: 118 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for drug and sexual content, language and some nudity
Starring Johnny Depp, Jimmy Carter, George McGovern, Pat Buchanan, Jann Wenner, Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Buffett, and Ralph Steadman
From Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney and producer Graydon Carter comes a probing look into the uncanny life of national treasure and gonzo journalism inventor Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A fast-moving, wildly entertaining documentary with an iconic soundtrack, the film addresses the major touchstones in Thompson's life--his intense and ill-fated relationship with the Hells Angels, his near-successful bid for the office of sheriff in Aspen in 1970, the notorious story behind the landmark Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his deep involvement in Senator George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, and much more. Narrated by Johnny Depp. (Magnolia Pictures)
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Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The movie also captures Thompson's tragedy: the haze of drugs and bad writing that consumed him for no less than his last 30 years.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
A biographical documentary doesn't get any better than this.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
It is to Mr. Gibney’s great credit that while he pays due attention to the outsize, cartoonish celebrity persona Thompson fell back on when his literary powers began to wane, this film concentrates on the bold, innovative journalism that secured Thompson’s reputation and assures his immortality.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Gibney's immensely funny and sad new motion picture Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson -- the "Dr." was a mail-order divinity degree -- is principally intended to rehabilitate Thompson and introduce his work to a new audience.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
The July 4th release is fitting, for Thompson was a true patriot. His longstanding association with the counterculture notwithstanding, Thompson loved this country and the things it once stood for, and his voice is sorely missed today, and whether you were a fan of his work or not, you'll find Gonzo well worth your time.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It leaves you wondering, how was it that so many people liked this man who does not seem to have liked himself?
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Johnny Depp, who paid for the 2005 funeral in which Thompson's ashes were fired out of a cannon, narrates with just the right mix of awe and impertinence.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
A mesmerizing look at the mythic quality and anarchic spirit of the irreverent and rabble-rousing journalist.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
A tender, even-tempered elegy to a writer who at his peak could ingest staggering (literally) amounts of drugs and alcohol and transform, like Popeye after a can of spinach, into a superhuman version of himself--more trenchant, more cutting, more hilarious than any political journalist before or since.
Read Full Review >Variety Dennis Harvey
Subject's career being inextricably tied to two extremely entertaining U.S. decades, Gonzo has a wealth of delightful archival footage to draw on, both directly involving Thompson and evoking the cultural landscape around him.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson
Like Thompson's work itself, it sometimes feels like a smoke screen, a colorful but distracting, distracted set of pretenses hiding as much as they reveal.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
It's more Thompson-for-beginners than an exhaustive inquiry, but as introductions go, it's thorough and thoughtful.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
This handsomely mounted documentary takes the same, indulgent tone that at lot of Thompson's friends and associates seem to have had.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
The film is thorough and entertaining. It's enthusiastic about his contributions, but it's no hagiography, and it serves as both a celebration and a cautionary tale.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Johnny Depp, who portrayed Thompson's alter-ego in Gilliam's film, provides the narration. If there's hagiography here, it's counterbalanced by biographical truth.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
The film is annoyingly sketchy on Thompson's early years and education, and it spends so much time on his coverage of the 1972 presidential election and his own race for sheriff of Aspen, Colo., that major aspects of his career get short shrift or go unmentioned.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
An amused and affectionate look at the writer who formed a crucial link between the New Journalism of the 1960s and today's blogosphere.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Feels a little soft and boomer-indulgent with its 10,000th rehash of the Nixon years and its soundtrack of trite 60s anthems.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jim Ridley
While the evidence of his spotty post-1970s work is hard to refute, Gonzo proves what a vapid, overvalued commodity edginess is, championing Thompson's best work for brass-tacks insight more than brass-balled outrage.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Because there was anarchy and randomness in Thompson's life and work, you find it in Gonzo.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
We are treated to all manner of worshipy recollections from a stable of Thompson's admirers, including, believe it or not, Patrick Buchanan and James Baker. Who said gonzo politics doesn't make for strange bedfellows?
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt
There's a nagging sense throughout Gonzo that, despite his late-life decline into caricature, Thompson was too complex, too self-mythologized, too big, too American to ever fit onscreen – especially in a movie aiming for "objectivity," which was, for Thompson, the worst of all possible words.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
So I was curious to see why we needed a two-hour documentary about the three-hit wonder who cast away his career halfway through life and coasted on celebrity status for 30 years. After seeing Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, I'm still not convinced we do.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
It may be impossible to make an uninteresting documentary about Hunter S. Thompson, but is it unfair to ask Gonzo for more Hunter and less Jimmy Carter?
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Thompson - his brilliance, his self-destruction, and the ground he broke - is always at the center, but the film occasionally loses its focus.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
I think Gonzo, which is wonderfully rich in historical footage, needs some skeptics, some voices suggesting that maybe, just maybe, Thompson was part of the problem, not the solution, when America flirted briefly with revolution (or was it merely anarchy?), leaving consequences that continue to resonate today -- and not always to our advantage.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Instead of pushing for tough answers to difficult questions, this film is content to mythologize Thompson's bad-boy behavior, celebrating things like his willingness to drink a bottle of bourbon a day and go hunting with a submachine gun.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
It seems to celebrate him more for his attitude, his fashionably leftist politics, his fame and his friendships than for any meaningful accomplishment.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Tom W. gave it a9:
Absolutely brilliant shows insight to work of Thompson and its impact on our society.
Jay Higgins gave it a6:
Well done documentary about an interesting but very unlikeable person. Thorough in it's research, excellent archive footage and well edited. Although Hunter S Thompson is interesting, I am not enthralled with his life.
Serrin A. gave it an8:
First matinee, opening day, on the world-famous 4th of July: theater one-third full. Audience primarily domesticated primates along with bats and gila monsters. While leaving home, did not know if there'd be two other guys in there or if it'd be sold out. Mandatory viewing for the HST fan satisfying Life Completion Requirements. Suggested viewing for the HST-curious. Was mildly surprised by how well regarded he was by mainstream famous figures interviewed (McGovern, Carter, Buchanon, etc). Of course, nothing boosts one's popularity more than a visit from the Grim Reaper. The 'declining years' segment of the film demonstrated that he was out of steam and knew it, suggesting that 'out with a bang' was the most logical option for The Doomed. When looking up reviews, was also surprised by the 'sexual content' and 'nudity' warnings. Was expecting 'drug content' and 'language,' to be sure, concluded that there must be an interview where he's simply outside, walking around naked while talking to camera. Turns out he enjoyed the classical Underground Literary Bad Boy Party Life of the era, a la Philip K Dick... an amusing scene comes to mind where he's simply showing some pictures to a couple of guests; they're asking questions, he's pointing at things--perfectly average example of 'entertaining guests.' The guests just happen to be naked ladies (and in grievous contrast to HST's standard attire). Will concur with official professional reviewer observation above regarding tried-and-tawdry pop song selection. Would wager HST listened to most of them once... but as far as I'd know, they were among his favorites and should best shut up. Damn! Out of ibogaine.
