What's going on in the scene where Dr. Gonzo menaces the waittress?

It's all fun and games until someone pokes their eye out. He's seems very hedonistic and was amused at her expense. He also isn't the most sympathetic of people. It's been awhile since I've watched it but Raoul doesn't really do anything about it either. It's 'warts and all' moment. Up until then they didn't really harm anyone.

The elevator scene wasn't as intimidating because a) the characters he threatened kept smiling in a funny way, b) they'd only made an off-hand remark ("bullsh-t!") as opposed to calling him a *beep* pimp" and spitting in his face and c) they were in a public place with the crowd using the elevator all the time while the diner was empty and isolated in the middle of the night. And, by that point, things had generally crossed over to the dark and ugly side as evidenced by the preceding montage that showed Duke and Gonzo going batsh-t crazy in public, getting beaten up and tossed on their asses on the edge of town. Also, I think it's relatively safe to assume Duke was quite wary of that hunting knife and indeed afraid his intervention might make the situation worse.



"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

Gonz was a live wire. And an incredibly unsavory character. That was made very, very clearly in the movie.

He pulled a knife on Duke. He pulled a knife on the crew in the elevator. He took an underage girl to his hotel room who he fed acid. The way he acted in the coffee shop was not at all out of character for him. In fact, it was right in line with the character. To a tee.

A pitcher of ice water, with ice

i have a ten minute posting quota because I called the imdb staff scumbags

The book, and therefore the movie, is loosely based on real events. So something out of place might just be an odd event that in itself, is interesting. My take on it is similar to the earlier scene where Duke checks into the hotel in front of the cops. It's a chance for Gonzo to be the tough guy. There are no cops, so he does't have to watch his behavior. If you notice, he does't actually threaten the waitress. He calls her out on being a prostitute, cut the phone cord, which is owned by the phone company, then actually pays for the pie. Technically, he did nothing wrong to the waitress or diner. On one level, Gonzo is being a maniac, but the waitress can't do a thing about it.

Here's how I understand it:

Throughout the entire trip, Dr. Gonzo and Duke have been on a tear, going wild, frightening people, ripping hotels off, and so on, but they've managed to keep it fun for themselves.

Eventually -- just as the 60s ended and all the acid freaks had to confront reality -- the high wears off and the ugliness of the world becomes impossible to ignore. This greasy-spoon diner is way off the main drag with its colored lights. Gonzo and Duke have hit the end of the road, the come-down, the hangover.

Dr. Gonzo wants to stir up trouble. Now this no longer seems amusing, it's no longer fun. It's mean and scary. And maybe the whole trip was mean and scary all along in some sense... but only now are we, the viewer, seeing their behavior from the perspective of an outsider who we can actually empathize with. So instead of all the "other people" seeming like grotesque reptilian monsters, Dr. Gonzo now seems pretty nasty himself.

Duke witnesses this and does not want to be a part of it. He doesn't intervene, either, because his loyalties are still to his friend. But he knows that their time is basically up now. The party is over.

And sure, they have a few more wild, fun times, like trying to get to the airport. But that's just one last hurrah before the story ends. They know they can't go on anymore like they have been. It's time to pack up and go back to reality.

No clue. This was a boring and pointless film, and Gonzo was a psycho.

😐