Gone in a puff.

Rating: Null/10 (8 April 2001)

Same old, same old. We've seen this done before, and much better. I tried to come to "Blow" with an open mind, hoping that perhaps the drugs-to-riches-to-excess-to-downhill-plunge might be told in a newer, fresher fashion...but no. Every manipulation, each dynamic only seemed calculated and rehashed from another picture. Johhny Depp, per usual, tries his hardest to rise beyond mediocre material, but even his performance can't save it. When are filmmakers going to learn that 70's-period-pieces are about more than trashy wallpaper, the soundtrack and the "look at those PANTS!" costuming? I remember reading a while back that James Gandolfini was up for the role of George's father (played in the film by Ray Liotta)...I have to wonder if, as in "The Mexican", his performance might've actually added a center of gravity and quiet strength to an otherwise paper-thin film? Typical, tiresome and pretty much lifeless, unfortunately.