Liotta is masterful at quivering his lip just so, and looking deeply with earnest eyes. Yet, Liotta almost seems out of place, reinforcing the contrast between lengthy sequences and sporadic moments of genuine emotion. Blow wants to be Goodfellas, but falls short of even being Donnie Brasco. Alas, Blow fails, because it possesses neither the grandeur nor the authenticity for us to fully engage George Jung and become absorbed into his fascinatingly corrupt life. Instead, we get big chunk of Depp here, a touching bit of Liotta there, and the remaining ensemble forgettable and shallow.
Characters fade in and simply fade out.
Take the scene when Barbara reveals her inoperable cancer to Jung. As alluded to, all the scenes between Jung and his father are fantastic and painfully moving. Demme hones in on facial expressions and the wrinkles, crinkles, and tremblings delivered by both Depp and Liotta just flat-out feel real. If it were more polished, had a bit more meat and a couple of gratuitous Joe Pescis, it might graduate to epic status. Or, if went heavy on the humor and high on the campiness, it might be more fun.