Not Bad--Drug Dealing Sure Looks Like Fun!

Rating: Null/10 (9 April 2001)

I really enjoyed the film, until I heard a mean-spirited commentary about it on NPR a few hours later, and then started to agree with what that critic was saying about the misogyny on display. Also, the film might be faulted for the simple fact that it makes drug-dealing look like fun--though it must also be said that the downsides are also given full rein. Johnny Depp is his usual great self--he can disappear into almost any role and he really becomes George Jung, the amiable guy who graduates from world-class marijuana smuggler to full-blown cocaine dealer. Also, there's a nice sense of the passage of time, as the easygoing 70s give way to the harder-edged 80s. Paul Reubens has something of a career-turnaround with his role as a gay hairdresser who is Jung's/Depp's connection. This certainly isn't _Traffic_ or _Scarface_, but there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.