Two words: "Goodfellas 2"

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2001)

Imagine the classic gangster film "Goodfellas," except without the colorful characters or memorable dialogue. Then replace all the robbery and drug dealing with just drug dealing and you're left with "Blow." Same premise, same style, and it even has Ray Liota. I've always said, if you're going to rip off a movie, rip off a good one. Johnny Depp is good actor, and his portrayal of George Jung has warmth, depth, and sincerity. Unfortunately, he's forced to carry the movie since no one else is given that much material to work with. Most of the other characters never quite seem like real people. This movie's saving grace is Jung's relationship with his daughter. He wants to go straight for her, but all he knows is drug dealing. Eventually his "profession" costs him even her. It also does a good job recreating the feel of the time periods it visits, although the non-stop soundtrack of older songs does get tiresome. "Blow" isn't a bad movie, but it lacks a lot of elements that would have made it a film on the same level as other crime dramas of recent years.