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Poster for For No Good Reason

For No Good Reason

2012 · 1h 29m · R Documentary, History
Directed by Charlie Paul

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Overview

For No Good Reason a film about Ralph Steadman. Johnny Depp guides the visually stunning journey, smashing narrative conventions, moving seamlessly from interview to animation and in the finest Gonzo tradition questions of witness and authenticity are challenged. Steadman's art is for the first time animated, including illustrations from Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas. Featuring Richard E Grant, Terry Gilliam, Bruce Robinson and with music from Slash, The All American Rejects, Jason Mraz, Crystal Castles, Ed Hardcourt and Beth Orton. A touching and at times funny film about honesty, friendship and the ambition driving an artist. This is a true record of the demise of the 20th Century counterculture and hipster dream with Ralph Steadman the last of the Gonzo visionaries.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
63%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Meet Ralph Steadman and his nightmare visions of a world in pain, revealed in a mesmerizing documentary.

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times
Fresh

The film makes it clear that not only was Steadman perfect for Thompson's work (and a big part of his success), his work stands on its own artistically.

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Fresh

Giving an overlooked luminary his due is reason enough for "For No Good Reason."

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Fresh

As wonderful as it is to watch the man work, and to review many of the startling images he created over the years, the film has its dead spots.

Tom Long, Detroit News
Fresh

This is most worthwhile for its scenes of Steadman at work, flinging ink all over the place and turning the splatter marks into his signature grotesques.

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

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