Has Depp ever been in a bad movie?

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2003)

On the evidence of this one, no. Blow is a beautifully played movie with mostly excellent performances all round.
Potential spoiler, but if you know your history it's not really:
It's about George Jung, who was a major marijuana and cocaine traffiker in the late 60s and early 70s, and his rise and fall. He tells the story as the narrator, superbly delivered in general by Depp, who always brings a personably human touch to every character he plays which no other actor can convey. From the heyday of the swinging 60s to the hippy love of the 70s, Blow tracks the life of the man who didn't believe he was actually doing anything wrong. And in many ways he wasn't - free will from others dictated whether or not *he* was committing a crime. But that doesn't gloss over the fact that what he did was wrong, and obviously highly illegal.
About the other players here: Ray Liotta plays his Dad perfectly, a man who's own life could be better, with a wife who has little respect for him, but who works 24/7 to put food on the table and tries to make life as good as possible. His mother, played by Rachel Griffiths, gives a good account of a woman selfishly expecting more from life and giving others her wrath when she doesn't get it. Penelope Cruz is pretty forgettable as Mirtha, and doesn't merit being on the DVD cover as she doesn't show up till over half way through, and her performance is acceptable if nothing overly inspired.
Overall it never tries to make George out to be a hero, just a misguided freeloader who jumps on a bandwagon. It's an excellent story, and well worth viewing.