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—— A Green Story May 24
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—— After Earth May 31
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Blow (2001)

tomatometer

55

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.

41

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.

audience

88

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

R,

Drama

Nick Cassavetes, David McKenna

Sep 11, 2001

$52.8M

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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.

April 16, 2001 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee
Sacramento Bee
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Blow can't sustain the high.

April 6, 2001 Full Review Source: Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An extraordinary -- and unfathomable -- piece of whitewashing.

April 6, 2001 Full Review Source: Slate
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

April 6, 2001
Seattle Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A mediocre biopic.

April 6, 2001 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Uneven drug trade story has explicit drug use.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

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.

July 16, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com
ColeSmithey.com

...it's hard to find any sympathy for the character or for the movie. (Blu-ray Edition)

October 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

Does the movie make us care? Not really, which is the movie's basic problem.

October 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

Comes off like a flamboyant cartoon, another film about the deglamorization of glamorous people living it up in the glamorous world of drugs.

September 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Comments (2)
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Blow isn't really a classic, but it's a sobering story well-told.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

Johnny Depp stars and, despite some pretty awful makeup, nails his performance as George Jung.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

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.

April 29, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Tiene una edición maravillosa, la fotografía es notable y la dirección bien lograda.

February 20, 2005 Full Review Source: Cinenganos
Cinenganos

A worthy companion to Traffic, which isn't all it's cracked up to be, either.

January 10, 2005 Full Review
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Audience Reviews for Blow

'Blow' is a horribly dull rehashing of classics such as 'Scarface', 'Goodfellas' and 'Boogie Nights'. The problems are abundant. Its plot is rambling, bloated and tediously predictable; so many plot points are crammed into it. This poorly constructed narrative results with sorely limited characterisation; some seemingly important characters coming and going within ten minutes, it's a total mess.

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.
January 2, 2013
Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins

Super Reviewer

As far as biopics go, it's not the best, and suffers from the flaws that come with the territory, but, as far as entertaining drug movies (anti-drug movies that hypocritically glamorize drugs can still be good) that are also strong character studies go, this film is amazing.

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.
June 9, 2006
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

    1. Tuna: I'm a walking heart attack.
    – Submitted by Jesse K (31 days ago)
    1. George Jung: I'm really great at what I do, Dad.
    – Submitted by Chris F (9 months ago)
    1. George Jung: This is Grade A 100% pure Colombian cocaine, ladies and gentlemen... Disco shit... Pure as the driven snow.
    – Submitted by shaun m (20 months ago)
    1. 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.
    – Submitted by Jack G (24 months ago)
    1. George Jung: All I can say is that my ambition far exceeded my talent.
    – Submitted by Susan T (2 years ago)
    1. 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?
    2. George Jung: Probably not.
    – Submitted by Susan T (2 years ago)

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