Johnny Depp made Raoul Duke come alive. And, thanks to his noble effort, and reckless experimentation with illicit substances in rigorous pursuit of artistic verisimilitude, all of us can now quote bits and pieces from the greatest movie of the modern era.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is rather like Monty Python and The Big Lebowski in that regard; all three are the secret texts that make the world clear, and explain life.
Never empty a can-full of Donny if the wind isn't right.
You know why. It ruins the eulogy.
Not the Eagles, man.
THE REPTILE HOUSE
[Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOmtVFQ3WF8.]
For those unaware of this film and it's cultural importance, here is how Wikipedia describes the events culminating in the scene above:
"The film opens with a montage of news clips of Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War protests while The Lennon Sisters cover of "My Favorite Things" plays over them, before cutting to Raoul Duke (Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (del Toro) speeding across the Nevada desert. Duke, under the influence of mescaline, complains of a swarm of giant bats, before going through the pair's inventory of psychoactive drugs. Shortly afterward, the duo stop to pick up a young hitchhiker (Maguire), and explain what they are doing. Duke has been assigned by an unnamed magazine to travel to Las Vegas and cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race. However, they have also decided to take advantage of the trip by purchasing a large number of drugs, and rent a red Chevrolet Impala convertible. The young man soon becomes terrified of the antics of the duo, and flees on foot. Trying to reach Vegas before the hitchhiker can go to the police, Gonzo gives Duke part of a sheet of "Sunshine Acid", then informs him that there is little chance of making it before the drug kicks in. By the time they reach the strip, Duke is in full throes of his trip, and barely makes it through the check-in; all the while hallucinating that the hotel clerk is a moray eel, and that his fellow bar patrons are lizards in the depths of an orgy."
End cite.
Life is rather like that. Your fellow bar (or restaurant) patrons are lizards, and there are moray eels in positions of power and influence.
The reason why there are trees on Broadway is so that the urchins from John Yehall Chin Elementary can walk in the shade while traversing the warzone between Chinatown and their school.
The Mabuhay Gardens closed down nearly twenty years ago (1986).
I drank chilled gin with angostura bitters there several times after it entered the downward slide, under a different name ("Josephine of the Islands"). Piano players and dance bands.
The Chi Chi Club ("Miss Keiko presents") hasn't been around nearly as long (1987); it eventually ceased operation in a haze of alcoholism and smoke damage.
Baby Destructo had delusions of heterosexuality whenever he combined different substances. Which he did far too often. Fortunately the young lady who worked at the cookie place never had the right angle to see what he was exposing below counter level.
He never realized that it was just his gay charm that made her smile.
Not that he had plans to do anything.
He was just happy to be there.
In all of his glory.
I think the gunfire on Broadway has stopped; there used to be four or five shootings a month.
On the other hand, I haven't lived there for years. It might be worse than ever.
I'm sure I would have heard something, though.
Maybe I need another gin pahit.
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