This movie is actually pretty good... and no I'm not high.

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2001)

BLOW is a movie that you feel bad for liking. On the one hand, the acting is very good, the script is well written, and the direction is right on. On the other hand, however, is the subject matter. Do we really need a movie that glamorizes a drug smuggler? Does Hollywood feel it necessary to make a man seem like a hero because he was a success at the narcotics trade? And the film is based on a true story! It makes you realize even more that he probably ruined more lives than just his own and the people close to him... but, of course, this film fails to mention that.
Before going into the film I heard it was good, but I figured it would be the stereotypical drug movie with lots of drug use, lots of gun use, and lots of women used. Instead, I was pleasantly presented with a film that actually had a real story to it. A story that was touching and meaningful, could be hysterical one moment and heartbreaking the next, would give you a soothingly safe feeling then suddenly thrust you into the intense and suspenseful. Finding a film with a good story that keeps you going at all of your emotions is something we get too few of these days at the cineplex.

And this film is more than just about the drug trade. It is also a story about the love between a father and son. The coming of age of a youngster getting into a dangerous business. The growing up into adulthood and the successes and failures of raising a family. And mostly, the story of a man who went from rags to riches to rags again.
I really did like this film and shame on me for feeling so. It was very well stylized and put together. And the acting was great too (especially Depp). Now, if only the studios can make a film this good about a better moral hero with a better moral life... then again, it is Hollywood.