Blow

July 8, 2005

Rated: R Runtime: 119 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Blow is a very well done movie. There are some top notch performances, a great screen play and Ted Demme does a great job as director. However this is not light entertainment, this is heavy drama with no real comedic relief.

Blow

Based upon the novel, “Blow: How a Small-Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost it All” by Bruce Porter. This is based on the true story of George Jung. It is often claimed that Jung is largely responsible for cocaine becoming the drug of choice for the rich and famous back in the early 70’s. Way back then before cocaine was a widely known narcotic, George hooked up with Columbian druglord Pablo Escobar to import mass quantities of the drug to the U.S. Jung had distribution channels which put the drugs into the hands of movie, TV and rock stars. That in turn made it the drug of choice with the trendy set, and in a very short period of time he was making tens of millions of dollars.

The movie isn’t just a history of cocaine. However, it does qualify as a highly dramatic biography of George Jung. We meet him as a little boy and come to understand the environment he was brought up in and follow him thru his pursuit of easy money and the ups and downs of the ride along the way. Jung truly personifies the old proverb that states the higher you go the further you can fall.

The movie is heavy on drama, we do not get alot of action or comedy. As you might expect there’s a bit of gunplay, but that’s about it. And I don’t remember even a chuckle, the movie is quite serious. We get a bit of flesh in the form of bikinis and such, but the only true nudity comes in very fast flashes. There’s nothing here to distract you from the drama that unfolds.

It is quite common for us to see a movie that isn’t all that well made but very entertaining. We’ll often tell you that such a movie won’t win any Oscars but is fun way to spend a couple of hours at the cinema. Blow is just the opposite, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it get some Oscar nominations. But I cant say this is a fun-filled way to spend a couple of hours. In fact, although the movie was 2 hours long, it felt more like 3. This is one of those movies that if you enjoy a good drama and a well made film, you should see it, but I do not think anyone will be sitting thru this one multiple times.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 3 Stars, DVD, Drama, Johnny Depp, Jordi Molla, Penelope Cruz, R, Rachel Griffiths, Ray Liotta