Blow (2001)
Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 136
Fresh: 75 | Rotten: 61
With elements that seem borrowed from movies like Goodfellas and Boogie Nights, Blow is pretty much been-there-done-that despite another excellent performance from Johnny Depp. It, also, becomes too sentimental at the end.
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 20
With elements that seem borrowed from movies like Goodfellas and Boogie Nights, Blow is pretty much been-there-done-that despite another excellent performance from Johnny Depp. It, also, becomes too sentimental at the end.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 293,838
My Rating
Movie Info
Following the life of cocaine-trafficking pioneer George Jung in a way that recalls Martin Scorsese's Casino, Blow recounts the man's days from his 1950s childhood in Boston to his downfall in the 1980s. George (played by Johnny Depp) begins his life as the son of Fred (Ray Liotta), an earnest breadwinner, and Ermine (Rachel Griffiths), who frequently walks out on them in pursuit of a more fulfilling life. When George moves west to California in the late '60s, accompanied by best pal Tuna (Ethan
Watch It Now
Cast
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Johnny Depp
George Jung -
Penelope Cruz
Mirtha Jung -
Franka Potente
Barbara -
Rachel Griffiths
Ermine Jung -
Paul Reubens
Derek Foreal -
Jordi Molla
Diego Delgado -
Cliff Curtis
Pablo Escobar -
Miguel Sandovar
Augusto Oliveras -
Ethan Suplee
Tuna -
Ray Liotta
Fred Jung -
Kevin Gage
Leon Minghella -
Max Perlich
Kevin Dulli -
Jesse James
Young George -
Miguel Pérez
Allesandro -
Dan Ferro
Cesar Toban -
Tony Amendola
Sanchez -
Bobcat Goldthwait
Mr. T -
Michael Tucci
Dr. Bay -
Monet Mazur
Maria -
Lola Glaudini
Rada -
Jennifer Gimenez
Inez -
Emma Roberts
Young Kristina Jung -
James King
Kristina Jung -
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All Critics (153) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (63) | DVD (25)
Depp works hard but we never get a clear view of George Jung, other than that of an aged boy.
Top CriticBlow can't sustain the high.
An extraordinary -- and unfathomable -- piece of whitewashing.
Blow fades a bit in its second half, weighed down by a need to closely follow Jung's life. But even then, the actors are so compelling that it's just a mild discomfort.
A mediocre biopic.
Uneven drug trade story has explicit drug use.
Johnny Depp gives a spellbindingly naturalistic performance that puts a sympathetic face on a powerfully individualistic man unable to shake a world of crime that brought him immense riches and eventually cost him everything he caredabout.
...it's hard to find any sympathy for the character or for the movie. (Blu-ray Edition)
Does the movie make us care? Not really, which is the movie's basic problem.
Comes off like a flamboyant cartoon, another film about the deglamorization of glamorous people living it up in the glamorous world of drugs.
Blow isn't really a classic, but it's a sobering story well-told.
Johnny Depp stars and, despite some pretty awful makeup, nails his performance as George Jung.
Rambling and confused, the film shows much concern for plot and not enough for characterization, particularly in second half which unfolds as a catalog of events. Misdirected, the usually reliable Depp gives a confused and scattered performance.
Tiene una edición maravillosa, la fotografía es notable y la dirección bien lograda.
A worthy companion to Traffic, which isn't all it's cracked up to be, either.
Overall, Blow just blows.
Audience Reviews for Blow
Super Reviewer
The energy is high, the sets, decor, costumes, hairstyles, and soundtrack are excellent, and the performances are mostly really good. It's a little hard to buy Liotta as Depp's dad, but it could be worse. Depp is phenomenal, Suplee is really pretty good, and Reubens is just a riot. It seems a little contradictory that he made this about a decade after his infamous "crack" PSA, but he does an awesome job here.
I find it sadly ironic that this movie makes the lifestyle fun and glamorous, and that the ultimate message is that drugs are bad, but that the director died of cocaine related heart problems.
I'll admit that this movie is a mess, but I really like it. There's a lot of good technique and other stuff on display here, and to me, that makes up for some of its issues. It initially comes off as Scorsese light, but ultimately comes into its own eventually. Plus, the movie has some hilarious moments and some really great lines. It gets really depressing really fast towards the end, but it's mostly a fun ride.
Super Reviewer
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- Tuna: I'm a walking heart attack.
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- George Jung: I'm really great at what I do, Dad.
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- George Jung: This is Grade A 100% pure Colombian cocaine, ladies and gentlemen... Disco shit... Pure as the driven snow.
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- George Jung: Hey, am I wearing lipstick? I said, am I wearing lipstick? When I'm getting fucked I want to make sure my face looks pretty.
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- George Jung: All I can say is that my ambition far exceeded my talent.
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- Fred Jung: I don't like what you're doing. It's not what I would've chosen for you, but I couldn't stop you if I tried, could I?
- George Jung: Probably not.
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Much of the film is one long dreary drug deal, only the most immature viewer would be engaged or, even worse, allured by it. Most people will watch it thinking about how it lacks the energy, sophistication and talent of all the fantastic crime films it so crudely rips off. Few films are as annoyingly kitsch as this.
Johnny Depp again proves his lack of credibility in the crime genre, his first attempt being in the similarly dull 'Donnie Brasco'. I'm not sure why RT deems his performance 'excellent', his feminine features just don't work in the genre.
Ray Liotta plays Depp's father, the noble working class stock character that forms the film's rather flimsy anti-drug message. This fails because of the aforementioned narrative issues, the film is utterly devoid of any message that resonates with the viewer. Most people who like this film appear to foolishly do so because they find it 'cool'; much like the bonehead rappers who idolise Tony Montana in 'Scarface'.
To make matters worse, the film also has mawkish lashings of sentimentalism towards the end. The crew had to have known how inferior this film was during production, I can imagine it was exhausting for them to complete the project with any conviction.