It doesn't completely blow, but 'Blow' is nothing new.

Rating: Null/10 (15 March 2001)

A sad (and true) story, 'Blow' spans three decades in the turbulent life of George Jung, the American cocaine smuggler who established the first vital link between Pablo Escobar's Colombian cartel and the United States in the 1970's. The reliably interesting Johnny Depp stars as Jung, and somehow saves a drifting, fragmented and cliche-filled script from disaster. 'Blow' awkwardly integrates the slow disintegration of Jung's family life with the rise and fall of his career, and the predictable plot leaves little leeway for an largely unmemorable supporting cast. Penelope Cruz plays Mrs. Jung as a one-dimensional bitch, and Paul Reubens' as Jung's gay dealer-friend marks another failed comeback for Pee-Wee. Depp's subtle performance is most effective in several moving scenes between Jung and his father (a newly amiable Ray Loitta) and his daughter. For a better rendering of the timeless saga of the rise-and-fall of the personal and professional lives of drug dealers, stay home and rent 'Scarface' or 'Goodfellas.'