Bill Murray is a household name. It is very rare for an actor to have such a versatile back catalog of films under his belt. Murray has progressed, from his goofy “Saturday Night Live” beginnings to his roles in the melodramas of director Wes Anderson. One of his first ventures into feature films was a motion picture called “Where the Buffalo Roam.”
“Where the Buffalo Roam” is loosely based on the exploits and works of Hunter S. Thompson, one of the most eccentric writers in the history of literature. He was mostly a reporter of sorts but also explored fiction. Some of his more famous works include a book about the motorcycle club the Hell’s Angels, as well as the fictitious “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
Murray stars in the film as the writer himself, and he plays the part perfectly. Murray even has Thompson’s voice down. They sound eerily similar and Murray’s mannerisms are spot on for Thompson’s. It is clear that he did his homework for the film. His attire is very close to Thompson’s as well. Murray frequently wears Thompson’s button-up Hawaiian shirts and yellow tinted, shooting-style Aviator sunglasses, as well as sporting an elongated cigarette holder.
The film is set up as an anthology format. It opens with Hunter S. Thompson furiously typing away on a typewriter, writing a story about his attorney, Carl Lazlo. From here, Thompson recalls some of his prior adventures with Lazlo that make up the film. These drug induced adventures include a drug trial, a trip to Super Bowl VI, as well as a play on Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72.” In each segment, Thompson’s bizarre behavior is highlighted. For instance, in the Super Bowl VI segment, he trades his tickets, press pass, as well as hotel room key for a bottle of wine and a hat. Thompson was a one-of-a-kind person, let alone reporter.
Throughout each segment, Thompson is supposed to be writing stories for the magazine he works for — Blast Magazine — which is clearly supposed to represent Rolling Stone. The film comments a lot on how much Thompson hated deadlines. His editor in the film is always aggravating him about the story at hand while Thompson could not be less interested.
The part of Lazlo is played by the late Peter Boyle. Boyle is, of course, well known for his roles as Frank Barone in the long running sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” and as the monster in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein.”
Since the film’s release in 1980, the legend of Hunter S. Thompson as grown even more. “Where the Buffalo Roam” is often overshadowed by the adaptation of “Fear and Loathing of Las Vegas” that was released many years later and starred Johnny Depp. The film brought new life into the lore of Thompson, whom had slowly started to fade out of the public eye in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, he turned mostly to sports writing for ESPN.com. Some of his writings from this era have been published in the book titled “Hey Rube.”
On Feb. 20, 2005, a single shot rang out at Thompson’s compound. Unfortunately, the shot resulted in the passing of Hunter S. Thompson. Even in death, Thompson stayed true to his idiosyncratic, laissez-faire ways: the last words of Thompson’s suicide note read, “Relax — This won’t hurt.”