Rampant glorification

Rating: 5/10 (9 December 2005)

I am a self-confessed Depp junkie. It is difficult for me not to like him in any film, even if it is the abysmal Secret Window. Blow is no exception. Johnno is spot on as the bright young decadent drug dealer. However, right from the outset, it seems the aim of the film is to justify all George did. Avaracious mother, excessively tolerant dad, friend who back stab the 'good ole bloke', unfeeling wife, and unforgotten daughter. It's almost as if Mr Jung is this really nice guy who has been given the short end all his life!! I mean, c'mon, he is a drug dealer!! And I find it irritating that Depp, and the director, refused to play up the strange amoral complexity that makes a man like George Jung what he is. In fact, the filmmaker is so awed by this guy who led this 'groovy' life that he landed up glorifying a good bloke turned bad, rather than showing the intricacies of nature - and nurture - that create the George Jungs of the day.