Film Review - Blow

I really didn't know what to expect from Blow. I hadn't seen a trailer. I knew it was about cocaine, and that people were saying go see it.

This is a good movie. It's not the "feel good movie of the season". It's the true story of George Jung, a kid who grows up to be the King of Cocaine in the 1970's. What is striking is that this person was from a home where hard work was valued, but George got into selling drugs because he and his boyhood friend "The Tuna" didn't want to work. Eventually, George figures out that with a little hard work, he could be making a lot more.

This is one of those movies told almost entirely in flashback. The opening scene is really the end of the story. We learn about how George when to jail for having 600 pounds of pot, and at the end of his sentence, he was ready for big time Cocaine trafficking.

Through his life, we see that every woman has in some way been a disappointment to him. Everything from his mother running out when he was a child, to his first love, dieing, to his wife divorcing him. George Jung and women just don't mix.

But don't feel sorry for him, this film certainly doesn't ask you to. George Jung Accumulated over sixty million dollars in his career. Most of it was lost, but the point is, he did well and lived high on the hog until the law caught up with him.

The acting is very notable. Johnny Depp as George and Ray Liotta as his father. The father is an interesting character, and I suspect he wouldn't have been so without Liotta's skills.

This film gets high marks for just telling the story without glorifying the use of drugs. At the same time, the film does not get preachy with you. It doesn't hit you over the head with silly anti-drug slogans. This is what used to be called docu-drama. It's done quite well.

Slight Suction!

Film Facts

Directed by Ted Demme

Released in 2001

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewed by Mongo