Review
Blow
- Director
- Ted Demme
- Year
- 2001
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- a.k.a. Coffee
- Review date
- Wednesday, September 05, 2001
Not just the hippies or the beatniks or the existentialists, no – everyone. And while officially of course Hollywood was clean the secret passion of many a great director or movie star was the abuse of some pretty illegal substances. For a long time the subject of “High America” was non-existent in U.S. film productions but recently Hollywood’s creative minds have taken an interest in the theme which used to be off limits.
While one of the resulting masterpieces – Traffic (2000) by Steven Soderbergh – shows different levels of drug distribution and how various people live off or with drugs, Ted Demme’s new movie Blow takes a different approach. Blow tells the story of George Jung (Johnny Depp) and describes without prejudice his unique career as a professional drug dealer.
Jung and his buddy Tuna (Ethan Suplee) leave their dreary suburban home in order to lead an easy life of parties and pot in California. Soon after their arrival they meet Barbara (Franka Potente) who introduces them to the local small time drug dealer and hairstylist Derek Foreal (Paul Reubens). The crafty gay coiffeur gives the odd couple of youngsters the chance to sell marijuana on the beach for him. Soon they decide that they need a direct access to much larger shipments of pot and go directly to Mexico to find a friendly “farmer” who can provide them with more dope than they ever dreamt of...
Blow is a picture about a drug dealer. That alone is an innovative idea in the sense that this particular profession has not been dealt with much from a neutral point of view. On the other side there are moments in the movie where I felt reminded of other pictures dealing with the life story of some infamous gangster. The parallels to other crime-related biopics are clearly visible.
However the ease with which Depp sketches the weird and unlikely story of Jung is one of the definite pros that Blow can list for itself. Another notable role is played by German actress Franka Potente (Run Lola Run). Potente does a great job and shows that she can compete with some of Hollywood’s regular girls from the second tier of female casting.
Penélope Cruz manages to shock as the first tempting then slutty Mirtha who abandons Jung when he loses his fortune, while Ray Liotta and Rachel Griffiths give convincing performances as George’s disappointed parents.
To sum it up: Blow is too close to its central character’s biography to surprise the viewer, however it does tell you a lot about a rather unusual type of job. And about the fact that the people who deal drugs are still... well, people.
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Comments
Jacinda wrote at 6/22/2002:
I don't exactly understand what critics disliked about 'Blow'. I have the impression that it was quite well received in Europe but American critics didn't go for it. I suppose the drug issue and the way a drug dealer was portrayed as a human being is problematic. But maybe I'm wrong.I personally really really liked this movie. Depp is fantastic - as usual. His performance made up for the bad wigs and the fake belly. ;) Those haircuts were simply aweful - especially the ones in the 80ies. Anyway, I was surprised to see how well Franka Potente fit in. I hope she will be as good in 'The Bourne Identity'. Go Franka! Penelope's slutty role was much of a change but a great one. Ray Liotta was great, too. I think his presence is the thing that makes people think of 'Goodfellas'. I don't see many parallels but 'Blow' is definitely a cool movie.
Coffee wrote at 6/22/2002:
Yeah, that's something that Jacinda and I discussed a while ago. I actually saw more paralells to Traffic in Blow than to Goodfellas. Of course Traffic has a totally different style and the characters are also developed in another way then those in Blow, but somehow I recognized drugs as the central theme of the movie.Of course it's all crime-related since a drug dealer is a criminal, but somehow Depp's interpretation of George Jung didn't convey the image of a hardened gangster to me. On the other hand it's a biopic and there certainly is a closeness to other pictures that deal with the lives of criminals (e.g. Goodfellas).
Groucho wrote at 6/22/2002:
SPOILERS AHEAD.I'm sorry Coffee, but I'll have to disagree with you.
I do think Ray Liotta reminds us of Goodfellas, but that being the main reason why Blow is being compared to Goodfellas is definitely not true, I'd say. That would mean any movie starring Liotta would remind us of Goodfellas? No way! To be honest, I didn't think of Goodfellas once while watching Hannibal (which isn't very hard of course, due the intensity of that film!).
Blow definitely looks a lot like Goodfellas in the way both stories flow. Both start rapidly and make us look at criminal life like an attractive option in life. Both then turn heavy and long and crude while the main character struggles to go on like he was without loosing his touch that is actually gone forever. Both guys ruin their personal lives that were actually not that bad. And at the end, the lesson is clear: crime doesn't pay.
Both movies are strong biopics of glamorous criminals. Drugs are of course real crude but are they the main subject? I wouldn't say so. Jung is the main subject here. And quite enough to carry on the movie.
What do you guys think?
Morris wrote at 6/22/2002:
You'll have to excuse me guys, but today I don't feel like getting too profound. That's why I'll only say that Jacinda is right and that "Blow" deserves a price for having the fakest belly in the history of cinema!!! Don't know what they were thinking. Lol. Anyway, it is a great great movie. Excellent performances all around...
Jacinda wrote at 6/22/2002:
Now that you've made it that clear, Grouch, I have to admit that 'Blow' resembles 'Goodfellas' a lot. Nevertheless I didn't think of 'Goodfellas' while watching 'Blow'. That's due to the fact that I felt drugs were the main issue of this movie while 'Goodfellas' was about mobsters. Of course, Jung is the central character, still I felt it was not a rip-off of 'Goodfellas'. I know you're not saying it is but I guess there are quite a few people out there who centered their criticism on this aspect. I see this movie as the personal story of a drug dealer's rise and fall. 'Goodfellas' is not the only other movie to focus on a similar subject though ('Carlito's Way','Scarface',..). That's why I mentioned Ray Liotta's presence which made me think of 'Goodfellas' first. Anyway, there are a lot of parallels but I see 'Blow' as an achievement of its own.
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Groucho wrote at 6/22/2002:
Gotta love this review! All you said is right, Coffee...I really liked this movie, unlike many critics, as I've heard. I am one of those critics who compare this to the excellent Goodfellas, but I don't mean that as a bad thing. In fact, though I know it can't reach Goodfellas in most ways, I loved this one as well.
About Penélope Cruz, I think this is her real breakthrough role. It's short but long-lasting.
My special mention would go to Ray Liotta. Not only his role is really special, but he does it too well. An excellent actor...