It's not a perfect film, but I suspect that's more to do with time restrictions and Estevez' battles with the MPAA over securing an R-rating. I agree with him. A lot of details get swept under the rug here. Some of the staging of familiar scenes are done in an all-too familiar way. But this is where director Estevez made a great call in focusing most of the storyline on the relationship between Jim and Artie through miles of cocaine, successes, failures, receding hairlines and the turbulence that surrounded them.
Good performances abound.
Huston's Marilyn Chambers is fresh faced without succombing to cliches, and Megan Ward does well with a difficult role as Artie's wife Meredith. Terry O'Quinn is seen all-too briefly as the boys' gambler dad. It's an amazing and frightening performance. Charlie's turbulence only enhances Emilio's more stoic role. That's a testament to the trust passed from filmmaker to actor, and brother to brother.