Blow (2001)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, & Paul Reubens

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I have always believed, with an exception here and there, that Johnny Depp was extremely overrated as an actor. His good looks, combined with his outlandish characters, often earn him more credit than he deserves. Having watched the film, Blow, for the first time this weekend, It was very easy to see that Depp does in fact have a lot of talent, and can play more than just a Disney character with too much make-up. I though Depp was good in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but he gives, by far, his best performance to date in Blow. For those unfamiliar with this true story, Depp plays George Jung, an American who worked for the Median Cartel and was responsible for bringing in an estimated 80% of all the cocaine in The United States, during the 70s and 80s. The story starts with his suburban upbringing and follows his rise to power and finally his fall from grace. Blow was very reminiscent of the kind of film you usually see from Leonard DiCaprio, and while he would have done a nice job in the lead, even he would be hard pressed to top the performance given by Johnny Depp. In the performance of a lifetime, Depp takes you through every aspect of this mans life with ease and really gave us a rare, inside look into Pablo Escobar's operation. He's paired with the lovely Penelope Cruz, who was a disaster playing Jung's wife. Her performance was nominated for a Razzie, as the worst female performance of the year, with good reason. Throughout the film, She's hard to understand and often times screaming like a lunatic. Her character was a very important part of Jung's life and they couldn't have done a worse job of casting. They needed a good looking Latin American woman to portray the part and Cruz was the top name at the time, but her sloppy performance really takes away from an interesting film. I found Blow to be a fascinating look into the other side of the war on drugs. Often times we only hear about what the FBI is doing, but not about the trade itself. Blow is original, cutting edge, and really a terrific film that shouldn't be missed.