A Thin White Line: Blow

Dealing drugs can be difficult, even when you are as renowned a dealer as George Jung. "Blow" is George's life story, based on the book by Bruce Porter. The movie is at times poignant and tragic.\nJohnny Depp plays George, a small-town boy from Massachusetts who rises from small-time marijuana dealing to sole responsibility for 85 percent of cocaine imported into the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Growing up in Massachusetts, George has an unstable family life except for the loving relationship he has with his father (Ray Liotta). \nGeorge and his best friend, Tuna, pack up for California and start selling weed through their connection, Derek (Paul Reubens), a hairdresser with a stick fetish. Eventually, a clean-cut and carefree George is caught with 660 pounds of marijuana. George goes to jail many times in the film, but this time is most important because there he meets Diego (Jordi Molla). \nTogether they plan to import cocaine, or "mota," from Colombia with Diego's contacts. As George states so eloquently, "Jail was a crime school and I left with a doctorate in cocaine." George eventually does well, makes exorbitant amounts of money and falls in love with a drug dealer's fiancee, Mirtha (Penelope Crúz).\n"Blow" is by no means a classic in the fashion of drug films like "Scarface," "Goodfellas" or "Boogie Nights." But the movie is well acted and aesthetically appealing. Johnny Depp shines as George Jung. George is a complicated man, and Depp delivers a raw and complex performance. George basically invented the marketplace for cocaine, and with that comes responsibility. The film is not preachy and does not condone drug use. The drugs are a part of George's life and serve as a background for telling his story. \nThis is a film about family, money, happiness and loyalty. It is both funny, tragic and well directed by Ted Demme, a former MTV producer. "Blow" is not a coke party film but plenty of memorable moments are in that vein. "Blow" left me on the edge of my seat worrying and wondering what could possibly happen next to the biggest importer of cocaine in the 20th century.