This is some seriously blasphemous shit going down on cannabis.com right now...

I'd say fear and loathing makes the most sense to two select groups of people:

People who have read the book. Which is amazing. The movie tries, and comes very close to living up to the book, but falls short, as with any great novel.

and

People who have done large quantities of hallucinogens. Wheeee!
Seriously though, if you've never encountered concepts like "the fear", or self-narration, you won't enjoy the movie as much as people who have. The entire thing is made as a sort of homage to the gonzo spirit, drawing the reader, or in this case the watcher, into the story as well.

It's fucking brilliant man.

And as has already been said, it's got some amazing insights into the death of idealism as the sixties dragged into the seventies. The american dream, etc.

But I'm not going to try to convince you. Just like how I wouldn't go through the trouble to point out that even the fed's anti-drug propaganda doesn't say anything bad about lsd other than it can lead to a bad psychological experience. set and setting. it's all an experience. being scared of experiences is like being scared of life.