Pubdate: Tue, 03 Apr 2001
Source: Daily Bruin (CA)
Copyright: 2001, ASUCLA Student Media
Contact:  http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/724
Author: David Holmberg

'BLOW' FOLLOWS HIGHS, LOWS OF COCAINE DEALER'S LIFE

LOS ANGELES -- A word of caution: too much "Blow" can lead to an overdose. 
An overdose, however, has never been this entertaining or rewarding.

As for the side effects of a "Blow" addiction -- it may cause intense 
emotions and a desire to see other quality films.

In Ted Demme's new fact-based film, Johnny Depp stars as George Jung, the 
first man on this side of the United States border to smuggle in cocaine on 
a massive scale. Spanning four decades, the movie follows the rise and fall 
of a single man who has succumbed to that overpowering American dream of 
ambition and wealth.

While an intensely personal drama, the film also reflects the mood of each 
era, capturing every period in attitude, costume and, of course, music.

This is done so thoroughly that time flows smoothly, compelling the 
audience along, rather than jarring the audience with awkward time shifts.

The film itself is a drug trip, with highs, lows and ultimately a state of 
depression. The story is told as a flashback with Depp narrating -- a 
common practice in most of Depp's latest movies.

This proves to be a successful way to tell the story because it provides 
the moral grounding needed to prevent the film from drifting into a 
drug-induced fantasy world.

As the story unfolds, Jung's upbringing in a small, working-class, New 
England town is exposed as a fundamental influence in his later pursuits. 
Ray Liotta plays Jung's father, Fred, who is supportive of his son 
regardless of his problems with the law. Liotta is surprisingly effective 
and consistent, as his character adjusts from caring for a normal 
adolescent male, to loving America's biggest cocaine dealer.

Jung's mother, Ermine (Rachel Griffiths), cares little about either her 
husband or her son. As far as she's concerned, money is the key to 
happiness. The American dream is in dangerous contention here, as Jung's 
mother wants the illusionary ideal of wealth as happiness while his father 
is barely getting by in the workplace reality.

Vowing to never become his parents, Jung leaves the East and enters the 
smoke-filled world of Southern California's 1968 Manhattan Beach drug 
culture. The joints are rolled, the drugs are smoked, and the liberal1960s 
comes alive.

The shear amount of marijuana consumption leads Jung to the conclusion that 
he can make a lot of easy money as a dealer. The ever-entertaining Paul 
Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman), enters as Derek Foreal, a hairdresser and 
small-time drug dealer. Together, they begin smuggling huge quantities of 
marijuana across the Mexican border, and the money starts flowing in.

With money comes problems, and the films light-hearted bounce begins to 
evaporate. This is reflected in every nuance of the film, from increasingly 
strained character interactions to less fluid camera movements, and 
culminates with the death of a loved one and an arrest for possession of 
660 pounds of marijuana.

During his relatively brief prison stay, Jung learns about the future of 
drugs - cocaine. Upon his release, he heads to Colombia and meets renowned 
cocaine kingpin, Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis).

The cocaine business is a serious one, and the ease and fun of selling pot 
has burned away to reveal this deadly new enterprise. At this point in the 
1970s, the drug is still fairly obscure, but Jung changes all that. By 
virtually inventing the market, he is vaulted into the top levels of 
society, and making more money than even he can spend in this new 
extravagant lifestyle.

At his highest, he marries Mirtha (Penelope Cruz), a wildly out-of-control 
Colombian woman who thrives on the drugs and excess of her husband. Cruz's 
performance is so wonderfully over-the-top that it is impossible to want 
her flame to ever extinguish.

Together Mirtha and Jung have a daughter, Kristina, who becomes Jung's only 
foundation as everything starts to unravel.

As painful and depressing as a hangover, the drugs wear off, and reality 
pounds in. There is no going back now and no way to stop the unfortunate 
events that lie ahead.

Jung's mother betrays him, his friends deceive him, his wife misleads him 
and ultimately he loses his daughter's love. It is an inevitable tragedy, 
but nonetheless deeply moving.

This is precisely why the film succeeds. It is a personal drama about a 
simple but ambitious man who gives his all to obtain the American dream. 
The painful irony is that Jung directed his entrepreneurial efforts toward 
drug trafficking, and although illegal, he was still tremendously successful.

The fact that marijuana and cocaine are not permitted in the United States 
is irrelevant; Jung simply pursues a better life than his parents. 
Unfortunately, his business was forbidden by the law.

This humanistic element gives the film a personal impression of the drug 
world that Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic" lacks. In "Blow," the ease and 
accidental nature of the drug culture are shown, as it is depicted as just 
another business. Jung is not a victim of drugs, but of the changing tides 
in cultural acceptability and law enforcement.

The film solidifies its unforgettable status with the final frame -- a 
picture of the real George Jung, still serving time in prison until 2014. 
The haunting image is a startling and effective reminder that the man is 
real, the story is real, and the tragedy is real.

"Blow" makes no judgment about the morality of drugs and is instead an 
unmatched story of a man's misdirected ambition. So go to the theater and 
take in some "Blow." It's the cheapest and most legal high on the market.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth