George Jung: Johnny Depp	Fred Jung: Ray Liotta
Ermine Jung: Rachel Griffiths	Derek: Paul Reubens
Diego Delgado: Jordie Molla	Mirtha: Penelope Cruz
Dooley: Uncredited	Tuna: Ethan Suplee
Pablo Escobar: Cliff Curtis	Barbara: Franka Potente
Director: Ted Demme

30 Second Bottom Line: A flower child beach bum of the 1960's, rises from a hustler selling drugs to his friends, to become a big time dope dealer. He literally introduces cocaine in the US on a mass-market scale. Unlike Traffic, this is based upon a true story.

Story Line: Told with narration, as a recollection of his rise and fall, George Jung (Johnny Depp) weaves the story of Blow, a street term for cocaine. George is the son of Fred & Ermine Jung (Ray Liotta and Rachel Griffiths), who were always having a hard time making ends meet as he was growing up. Fred owned a small plumbing business near Boston, and although he did not make a lot of money, he earned it legally. Ermine was never satisfied with the money that Fred made and complained loudly to him in front of young George. Often she would leave and then come back after a few weeks. The cold shoulder that George eventually gave his mother, after one of her returns to the household, sets the tone for things to come with both his mother and his wife, and how the dynamics of those relationships would later land him in jail.

As a young man, George decided to move to sunny California with his childhood buddy, Tuna (Ethan Suplee). They didn't want to work regular jobs, but they had a beachfront apartment and lifestyle to maintain. They got the idea to sell marijuana to the beach party crowd, after all they enjoyed it. When his friend Dooley (Uncredited) was visiting from the East Coast and said that quality weed like they had could be sold fast at high prices to colleges within a 60-mile radius of one another, George was in the drug business big time. Many of the women they partied with were stewardesses, like George's girlfriend Barbara (Franka Potente). She had a regular run to Logan airport in Boston and during those days, bags were not searched. There were no 20 questions by the curbside sky cap or x-ray machines in airport corridors. The only problem was that she could only carry two suitcases each trip. Business was so good that before long they had to rent a mobile home and drive across country to haul the large amounts of dope they were selling.

Keep in mind this was about 40 years ago and making $30,000 a week, tax-free was indeed big money. George, being an entrepreneur, realized he was making good money paying retail for his product. Just think of what he could make if he was buying it wholesale. He decided to go to Mexico, the source, and by literally cold calling, he found someone to buy a large quantity of dope from… $50,000 at the wholesale level. His friend Dooley was a pilot who moved the goods. What Dooley told him about flying became prophetic about selling and using drugs, "…it's easy to take off, and hard to land."

After being arrested for having 660 pounds of marijuana, with the intent to distribute, he was about to take a plea for two years in jail. What kept him from completing his plea bargain was that Barbara told him that she did not have two years. So instead of going to jail, George jumped bail, making him a fugitive "on the run." He chose to become a supporting caregiver to Barbara during her illness.

Eventually he was arrested again, and while in jail he met Diego Delgado (Jordie Molla). Diego was a friend of Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis), who introduced George to having a better dream…to move cocaine rather than weed. Jail was like being in school for George. When he went to jail, he said, "I had a bachelors in marijuana and when I was released, I had a doctorate in cocaine."

What we see next is that marijuana and cocaine are different in many ways; one is clearly more addictive than the other. With weed, its use tended to be of the fun party variety, while cocaine controls your life. We get real insight into George's common sense IQ when the tells the judge he is only doing people a favor by distributing drugs...he's only giving the people what they want. For cocaine, "cold blooded" best describes the business dealings. And that seems to be the point we are stuck on today. The movie Grass does a nice job of getting you from drugs in the early 1920's to the 1960's and Blow and Traffic pick it up from there.

Tell Me More About It: Blow is an uneven film; as good as Traffic for the first two thirds of the story, and a lot worse in the last third. It is very personal and informative, with respect to giving the background on why George Jung was a free spirit and moved from the East Coast to Southern California beaches to become a party animal.

The makeup became a distraction with aging Liotta and Griffiths to be Depp's parents. Liotta is only 5 years older than Depp and Griffiths is actually younger! They are good actors, Liotta is very good…but it detracts from the realism of the film.

The film is half over before Penelope Cruz comes on screen and she makes a noticeable difference. Unfortunately, it is not a good one. She brings a typecasting "cuteness quotient," with a she-cat shrillness to her portrayal, that takes away from her first being a sexy siren, who is the love that George needs, after Barbara. I hate to admit this, but Cruz should think about taking a page from the books of Sandra Bullock and Meg Ryan and stick with what she's good at. Cruz was great in Woman on Top, very good in All the Pretty Horses and out of her element in Blow.

The most disappointing thing about the film is something that could not be changed and that is the truth about George Jung. Certainly he was a smart man…anybody who can make $30 million is no dummy. After being in jail so many times, you would think that he would learn his lesson. He placed a high value on the relationship with his daughter. When he saw her being born, it gave him the motivation to be sober for five years. If only he had used his common sense to stay out of the drug marketing business. The film portrays a kind of happy go lucky guy for an upbeat ending with a touch of sadness. It would have been better showing George for the sad sack loser that he is. He's a classic example of a person who doesn't know when to "let go."

George lost $30 million that was stashed in a Latin American bank because it nationalized and seized his assets. He could have laundered it in the US and put $12 million in a bank in his home state. Out of cash, and with no interest in working a regular job, he decided to risk all the things dearest. This resulted in him going back to jail again. He's there now until 2014…his mother would not let him see his dying father and his daughter wants nothing to do with him. He really did blow it all.

Johnny Depp: Chocolat	Ray Liotta: Hannibal
Rachel Griffiths: Hilary and Jackie	Paul Reubens: Doctor Doolittle
Jordie Molla: Second Skin	Penelope Cruz: Woman on Top
Cliff Curtis: Bringing out the Dead	Franka Potente: Run Lola Run
Ted Demme: Life	Ethan Suplee: Remember the Titans