True story? Big fiction more like it.

Rating: Null/10 (9 October 2001)

You cannot say that "Blow" was not an entertaining movie. After reading Bruce Porter's book, "Blow" I do not believe that it could be called a true story. Hollywood screenwriters often compress, and consolidate characters for the sake of a shorter script, and the audience's limited attention span. In Blow, the writers created deliberate and misleading events that manipulated their story about George Jung.
When George is first busted with the marijuana, his girlfriend meets him at the courthouse to tell him that she has cancer, and she has less than two years left to live. We gush with sympathy for George when he makes the decision to run from jail and tend to his sick love.
According to Bruce Porter's book, on which the movie is based, this never happened. George's love relationships at the time were basically numerous, and casual. Many of his girlfriends were also his dope runners. George simply did not want to go to jail. He had a lot of money, and went on a bender until they caught up with him. There is nothing mentioned in the book about any girlfriend with cancer, ever.

In the end George trusts and old friend, and he is set up by narcotics agents.He is busted and goes to jail gain. We are told that this was to be the end for George. He was only getting one last score and he was going to get lost with his daughter.
Wrong. George was scamming, as he had always done. He might have retired, but shortly before hand he learned through his lawyer that all his 63 million was gone from his Panamanian account. By the way, according to Bruce Porter's book he spent it. Therefore he never appeared in Panama for the money, and it wasn't appropriated by the Panamanian government, as in the movie.
You just have to see a picture of his L.A. connection, played by Pee Wee Herman in the film. The real Richard Barile was anything but effeminate. He was a short but burly, fuzz haired, balding, bearded, ex marine who did service in Vietnam.

George never appeared at his former Columbian partner, Carlos Lehder's island, let alone put a gun to his head. George's sole form of revenge resulted from his testimony against Carlos Lehder in the 1980's. At the time Jung was himself in prison.

There are many bits of the film which are authenticated in Bruce Porter's book. I invite you to read "Blow". It is a darn fine yarn, notwithstanding that it tells an entirely different story, at times.
This facts are not meant to detract from the film's entertainment value.. I love the Coen brother's films. However, I looked into "Fargo" and I learned that virtually none of that happened either. (Go here to see: http://www.brainerddispatch.com/fargo/ ) I still love the Coen brother's work.