Blow (2001)

Genre: Biographical

Directed by: Ted Demme

Starring: Johnny Depp, Jordi Mollà, Pénélope Cruz

Running time: 124 minutes

Blow is a biopic about George Jung, who came out of humble beginnings in Massachusetts to become a cocaine smuggler. This 2001 film directed by Ted Demme covers the rise and fall of this man who ended serving massive jail time and who is still alive to this day.

Johnny Depp is very good (as usual) as George Jung. Depp manages to make a very flawed character so much more likeable than he really should be. There comes the biggest issue with Blow: It tries to paint George Jung as a poor victim, while he’s more of a fool who got himself into a terrible mess with his greed and lack of acumen. Depp is such a good actor that he makes the painting of that particular distorted portrait actually possible.

In spite of all my misgivings about the main character in this biographical film, the story itself is a very compelling one when we take it for what it is (entertainment). Even if the moviemakers worked a little too hard to make Jung a sympathetic victim, we can see through it and all that is left in the end is a pathetic man who lost it all. Overall, Blow is a very interesting story about a very uninteresting man.

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