Ooo, What a Lucky Man He Was

Rating: 5/10 (1 October 2007)

In early life scenes, Jesse James (as Young George Jung) is an ordinary, likable kid. He has a really nice, but unsuccessful in business, father (Ray Liotta as Fred Jung). He has a hellish, selfish mother (Rachel Griffiths as Ermine Jung). He has an overweight friend (Ethan Suplee as "Tuna"). In 1968, he has grown into Johnny Depp. Mr. Depp and pal "Tuna" move to California. They meet women on the beach, and get stoned. Depp also meets Paul Reubens (as Derek Foreal), who turns him on to selling pot. Depp becomes a HUGE drug dealer.
This movie had me going until the switch to California. I was distracted by Depp's different hairstyles. By the 1970s, Depp looked older than his mother. The way people age, and change hairstyles is screwy; so, is the soundtrack song selection order. Depp's characterization is interesting, at least; he has my respect for taking chances with his movie roles. Penelope Cruz (as Mirtha) lifts things considerably when she appears, but it's a long, long wait. For a film so effective in its "based on a true story" opening, I was surprised so few of the cast seemed to act like they took drugs. Depp performed well, however; with his scenes hitting bottom, and recovering, being impressive (see the beating and childbirth scenes). Emma Roberts performs very well as the daughter Kristina; her scenes with Depp make you care about the character. Director Ted Demme was promising, but died shortly after this film...
***** Blow (2001) Ted Demme ~ Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Paul Reubens