BLOW RATING: 8/10
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PLOT: George Jung is your typical middle-class kid from Massachusetts. Unfortunately, he's got a bitchy mom but a nice dad. As a child, he witnesses his father's struggles to make ends meet and grows up wanting more out of his own life. As an adult, George generates so much cash at some point, that his biggest problem becomes finding a place to store it all. How does George go from being a lil' tike with a cool dad to one of the biggest drug-runners in the United States during the late 70s, early 80s? True story. Find out by watching the movie.
CRITIQUE: Is this movie original? No, not really. Does this movie still give us a great story, an intriguing lead character, an amazing soundtrack, plenty of style, many a touching moment and an altogether fascinating cinematic journey? Oh, definitely! "Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster!" is the quote that starts off one of my favorite movies of all-time: GOODFELLAS. Now it goes without saying that this film will unavoidably be compared to that film, SCARFACE, BOOGIE NIGHTS and many other epic life-stories of little so-and-so's making it to the "big time". But unlike most of those wise guys, here's a film in which the lead character doesn't really want to be a gangster, but one circumstance leads to another circumstance and the next thing you know, he's meeting with Pablo Escobar, the biggest drug lord in the world. A very interesting journey, to say the least. Here's a movie that gives you another intriguing story of a "regular guy" who ends up in extra-ordinary circumstances, and with a little bit of street-smarts, a little bit of charm and a lotta balls, makes something out of himself. Mind you, I personally have always been fascinated with the biographies of famous people, so maybe this story won't grab you as much as it did me. But the actors are also all very good in this film, the high style in perfect alignment with the previously mentioned flicks and plenty of drama, bits of humor, betrayals and double-crossings (natch!).
Another thing that sets this flick apart from the previously mentioned movies is its personal connections which are highlighted to us through its lead character. A very deep father/son relationship is explored here and so is the lead's love for his daughter, which keeps him going through some of the tougher times (having recently had a baby girl himself, I could see how Depp could relate more to this character). Ultimately, you will either be interested in this man's story or not, and I for one, was quite absorbed and entertained. The detailed progression of his beginnings, his rise and his eventual downfall (I don't think I'm giving anything away here) are well paced and convincingly strung together, with lotsa flair via the director's eye, a groovy soundtrack, some entertaining side characters and a very poignant ending. I don't think you should go into this movie expecting to see something entirely different from the films mentioned above, because they do ultimately resemble each other quite a bit in style, pace and general undertone. But the personalities, the struggles and the personal story behind this one is on a fresher tip, and it certainly grabbed me and took me along for quite the ride. The word "epic" was made for this movie. Kudos to Ted Demme for taking the material and turning into an entertaining and touching vehicle, and to Johnny Depp for keeping me glued to the screen with yet another solid performance. Although I do wish he hadn't worn his sunglasses so much, since it didn't allow for the viewer to get into his character's eyes. But alas...
PS: You also shouldn't expect to see much of Cruz or Reubens, who appear to be billed much greater than their characters' respective appearances in the film.
Little Known Facts about the movie and its stars: This movie is based on the Bruce Porter book called "Blow: How a small-town boy made $100 million with the Medellin cartel and lost it all". When the film first started casting, actors John Leguizamo and James Gandolfini were in talks to play Depp's good friend in the movie and his dad, respectively. The roles eventually went to Jordi Molla and Ray Liotta. >From where do you know the screenwriters of this movie? Well, David McKenna is the man who wrote AMERICAN HISTORY X (9/10) and co-wrote GET CARTER, while Nick Cassavetes is the son of the famous writer/director John Cassavetes, who himself also had a role as one of the bad guys in John Woo's FACE/OFF. He also co-starred with Johnny Depp in THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE (4/10). One of Depp's earlier girlfriends in the movie is played by German actress Franka Potente, who you will undoubtedly remember as the lead from RUN LOLA RUN. One of the producers on this project is none other than actor/comedian Denis Leary. Director Ted Demme has directed a couple of Leary's TV specials, "Lock N Load" and 1992's "No Cure for Cancer", and two films starring the funnyman, MONUMENT AVENUE (aka SNITCH) and THE REF. Leary also hails from the same state as the film's lead character George Jung: Massachusetts. And yes, for anyone who's still asking, director Ted Demme is in fact the real-life nephew of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS director Jonathan Demme.
Where's JoBlo coming from? Boogie Nights (8/10) - Casino (7/10) - Donnie Brasco (8/10) - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (7/10) - Goodfellas (10/10) - Scarface (9/10) - Traffic (8/10)
Review Date: April 1, 2001 Director: Ted Demme Writers: David McKenna & Nick Cassavetes Producers: Ted Demme, Joel Stillerman & Denis Leary Actors: Johnny Depp as George Jung Ray Liotta as Fred Jung Jordi Molla as Diego Genre: Crime Year of Release: 2001 ------------------------------------ JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.joblo.com/ ------------------------------------ (c) 2001 Berge Garabedian
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