Film Review - Where the Buffalo Roam

Bill Murray as Hunter S. Thompson in 1980s Gonzo Film Comedy

Apr 25, 2009

Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) is the hilarious movie based on the twisted adventures of writer Hunter S. Thompson. Bill Murray's portrayal of Thompson is uncanny.

Where the Buffalo Roam is set in the early years of Hunter S. Thompson’s writing career, and deals chiefly with occurrences in 1968 and 1972. The film focuses mainly on Thompson’s relationship with his friend and attorney-at-law, Oscar Zeta Acosta. In the film, the character based on Acosta is named Carl Laslo, and is played by Peter Boyle (Taxi Driver, and TV’s Everybody Loves Raymond).

Gonzo, Drugs, Nixon, Acosta!

Where the Buffalo Roam doesn’t have a central plot. Rather, it is a series of wacky interactions and humorous misadventures involving Hunter S. Thompson and Carl Laslo. It is not dissimilar to, say, an omnibus reel of a comedy sketch series, and it tends to revel in drugs, guns, politics, and the unpredictable nature and structure of Gonzo Journalism, which Thompson was the ‘father’ of. Some of the film’s highlights include a one-on-one interview with Thompson and Richard Nixon in a public toilet, and Thompson’s reluctant departure from an important assignment at the Super-Bowl, when he is dragged away by Laslo to steal a plane and smuggle weapons with some freedom fighters Laslo is acquainted with.

The Great Shark Hunt. Fear and Loathing…

The basic foundation for Where the Buffalo Roam is an article that Thompson wrote about Acosta, entitled The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat. This article was first published in October of 1977 in Rolling Stone magazine, a publication Thompson contributed to regularly. The article can also be found in Hunter S. Thompson’s early collected works, The Great Shark Hunt, a collection of articles, essays, letters, extracts from Thompson’s notable publications, and other highlighted written pieces leading up to the late 1970s. The Great Shark Hunt was first published in 1979. Other inspirations for the film’s settings, dialogue, and situations, include Thompson’s works Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972. Acosta plays a major role in this story) and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 (1973).

Bill Murray gives an amazing performance as Hunter S. Thompson. Even the great Thompson himself expressed that Murray ‘did a good job.’ The persona of the famous Gonzo Journalist is absorbed and performed with such excellence by Murray, that it is actually a little eerie. A lot of current-generation Thompson fans would have been introduced to the marvel that Thompson is by watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (a 1998 film based on Thompson’s 1972 book of the same name). In this film, actor Johnny Depp portrayed Thompson/ Duke (Raul Duke - a persona created by Thompson and the pseudonym under which he originally published Fear and Loathing…in Rolling Stone,1971).

Depp’s performance was quite remarkable, and it still has the power to impress and dazzle beyond description.

But Murray not only got there first, he is probably the most convincing. Indeed, Murray returned to his stand-up comedy slot on Saturday Night Live and was, as is explained by one of the show’s writers at the time, ‘…so immersed in playing Hunter Thompson, he had virtually become Hunter Thompson, complete with long black cigarette holder, dark glasses, and nasty habits. Billy was not Bill Murray, he was Hunter Thompson. You couldn’t talk to him without talking to Hunter Thompson.’ Years later, Murray reflected on his part in Where the Buffalo Roam, saying, ‘I took on another persona, and that was tough to shake… I still have Hunter in me…’ – an intriguing thought. But perhaps the most comical of all stories or instances regarding these frighteningly good portrayals of the crazy Gonzo King, is the one about the time the Fear and Loathing… film was in production, and Bill Murray phoned Johnny Depp. Murray had a serious tone and informed Depp that taking on the role of Thompson, with his zany cartoon-like movements and speech, would probably be something that stayed with him forever…

Thompson Fans Love it

Where The Buffalo Roam is not the fast-paced, musical journey of mind and vision that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is, but it serves as a great starter-film for an evening’s viewing of the latter. Combined, the two films make for an entertaining celebration of Hunter S. Thompson. Alone, however, Where the Buffalo Roam can have the odd slow moment, but many will still appreciate the humour. It is a simple comical production that seems to take a separatist stand, in that it doesn’t try to grab limelight by conforming to popular formulae. And it just about gets away with this. Bill Murray fans will enjoy watching the fresh-faced young comedian in his early days, and hardcore Thompson fans will absolutely adore this film, as they will love just about anything to do with the legend.

Watch the films, and then spend the early hours indulging in the literature of the great Hunter S. Thompson. Perfect.

Film Quote: from Where the Buffalo Roam

Thompson, during his Q&A session, is asked by a young woman if he thinks ‘drugs and alcohol will make me a better writer?’ Thompson lights a joint, inhales, and says: ‘In my case, you know, I’d hate to advocate drugs, liquor, violence, or insanity to anyone… But in my case it’s worked.’

Some Hunter S. Thompson Publications

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: a Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

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