The Rum Diary
Seen it?2011 | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
Weeknight WatchWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With a lukewarm 5.9 out of 10 from audiences and soft box office, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for anyone who wants a laugh. If you loved The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun or Smoke, start here.
- The mood
- Funny with heart.
- The pace
- Takes its time with its characters, at 2 hr.
- What might put you off
- Rated R: meant for adults.
Tired of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, itinerant journalist Paul Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local San Juan newspaper run by the downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked lifestyle of the late ‘50s version of Hemingway’s 'The Lost Generation', Paul soon becomes entangled with a very attractive American woman and her fiancée, a businessman involved in shady property development deals. It is within this world that Kemp ultimately discovers his true voice as a writer and integrity as a man.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsSolid
51% on Rotten Tomatoes, 56 on Metacritic
- AudiencesBelow par
5.9 out of 10
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$45 million worldwide on a $45 million budget; interest faded quickly after launch
- Buzz & cultural impactSolid
About 112K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Bruce Robinson
- Johnny DeppPaul Kemp
- Amber HeardChenault
- Aaron EckhartSanderson
- Michael RispoliSala
- Giovanni RibisiMoberg
- Richard JenkinsLotterman
- Amaury NolascoSegurra
- Marshall BellDonavon
- Bill SmitrovichZimburger
- Julian HollowayWolsley