"Goodfellas" on cocaine

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2001)

Contains Spoilers Let's first get one thing out of the way: Johnny Depp is flawless and engaging in his very complete performance as George Jung, drug smuggler of yore. The rest of the cast, including Paul Reubens and Penelope Cruz, is almost as perfect. What sucks about "Blow" is the unoriginal way in which the director went about creating the film. The first half of this movie - detailing how Jung got into the drug business, how he set up his operation, his rise to the top, what effect it had on his personal life... is all very believable and interesting to watch. However, as soon as things go south, the movie-goer realizes that this is just another very overused "rise and fall" plot line (especially in movies about successful criminals), which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so drawn out. Yes, we know that once Jung was rich and respected. No, we are not surprised that he was betrayed by his friends. No, we are not surprised that his wife doesn't like being poor. No, we are not surprised when Jung gets set up and has bad luck and gets in trouble and loses it all. For the interesting story this is, the latter half of it is done in a very dull fashion. Worst is the obvious hijacking of Martin Scorcese's directing style in "Goodfellas." Like Ray Liotta (who himself stars as Jung's father) in that movie, Johnny Depp gives never-ending narration to the film in a grizzled, tired, tone of regret. Also, the use of sharp punctuations of the rock music of the time is done in the same fashion as "Goodfellas." The relationships between the characters are also portrayed in much the same fashion as those in the gangster flick. In conclusion, half of "Blow" will hold your attention with it's quick-moving and interesting plot and superb acting. The other half, featuring Jung's decline, is worn out, drawn out, and painfully unoriginal storytelling. After a while, the movie, well, blows.