FilmBlather.com

"If you did cocaine in the 60's and 70's, there's an 85% chance it came from us."

The American Dream is a wonderful thing; the promise of rags to riches still keeps millions of people working hard in this country. But is, say, selling cocaine a part of it? How far can a person go before turning the American Dream into a cruel mockery? Blow, an engrossing movie about that very corruption and far more than the average biopic, recounts the rise and fall of George Jung, the biggest American cocaine distributor in the '60s and '70s.

To properly discuss the film, I feel I need to reveal almost the entire plot; if you care about that sort of thing, bail now.

George is the son of an honest plumber (Ray Liotta), the man who should have been his role model. Unfortunately, his mother was perpetually unhappy with her husband's meager earnings and, witnessing her misery when they file her bankrupcy, swears never to be poor. He moves to california, where he starts a small-time pot operation with local drug Derek Foreal (Paul Reubens). They begin raking in the cash and living comfortably on the west coast, until the ambitious George decides to go national claiming, not unreasanably, that the easterners have never laid their hands on marijuana of this quality in their lives.

Business booms; demand is incredible. It's not enough. George decides to go one step further and add cocaine to his repertoire. With the help of a Mexican drug cartel and the connections that he made while in jail for selling drugs, he can soon no longer count the money that's coming in. "If you did cocaine in the 60's and 70's," he notes, "there's an eighty-five percent chance it came from us."

He keeps his occupation from his parents for a while, until they find out that he's a fugitive. His father's reaction is one of quiet resignation -- it's not the path he would have chosen for him, but he is glad to see his son presumably happy -- while his mother, formerly one to always grab the quick buck, knee-jerks and disowns him. His first girlfriend leaves him when he goes to jail and he marries his second, played by Penelope Cruz. They have a child and George decides to leave the business until he goes to jail and she divorces him. When he gets out, he wants to bond with his daughter; to do that he needs support money, which inspires him to enter one last deal.

Blow is, odd as this sounds, a Great Gatsby for the sex-drugs-and-rock-n'-roll era. It chronicles the story of a man who comes from poor origins, attempts to rise socially by obtaining wealth and is finally defeated because of the shady dealings he uses to do this. He goes from rags to riches to rags and finally to a prison uniform, happy only when leading the quiet life with his family until his past catches up with him.

The movie, directed by Ted Demme, finds away to tug at the heartstrings without being openly manipulative or at all contrived. The final image of the real George Jung, looking beaten and hopeless, is powerful, especially considering the very poignant scene that it follows. Demme makes the drug business accessable to the viewer; the mistake that Boogie Nights (a similar film in tone and setting) made was making its focus distant and obscure.

Johnny Depp solidifies his standing as a national treasure and Ray Liotta gives the best performance of his career. Blow is well-made and entertaining, exhibiting none of the depressing, reverential passivity that often mars biopics. George Jung, as presented here, is a hero despite himself; we cheer for him, fear for him and, finally, pity him.