Hey folks, Harry here with this first look at Ted Demme's (LIFE, MONUMENT AVENUE, THE REF, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS) latest helming creation... BLOW. The screenplay by Nick Cassavetes and David McKenna was generally well received. It also features LOLA!!! Yup, Franka Potente! So... point being is I'm there. Beware of the review as there are quite a few spoilers intact... However, I can tell you his major complaint is with Johnny Depp who he feels recycled his WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE role too much... I don't necessarily know if that's a bad thing.... I love that film. But then, I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan... except in THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE which blew out Flintstones tires it was soooo bad. This was an EXTREMELY EARLY SCREENING... as so far I can't even find a scheduled release date... So that probably means it's either late holiday season in special markets or January through March of next year.... we'll see. However, you need to take in consideration that this screening was not of the final film... but a work in progress... where Ted Demme was looking to find the problems with the film... and then hopefully see about working em out... We'll see....
Dear Harry,
How ya doing? Long time fan, first time provider. I had the pleasure of attending a private screening of the new Johnny Depp film, tentatively titled, "Blow". The film stars as stated, Johnny Depp, Ray Liotta, Ethan Suplee (the big guy from "Mallrats"), the stunning Penelope Cruz, and some others who I recognized but couldn't tell you off the top of my head. The film was directed by Ted Demme (johnathan's cousin) who I caught sneaking into the theater as the lights dimmed. The only titles on the film were the New Line insignia in the beginning as well as a title which informed the audience that what were about to see was not the finished product, thank goodness.
The film starts out very well, Depp is the son of Liotta and lives in a small town in the Midwest. His mother can't stand him, his father gives him tough love and the occasional hug. His father is stuck in a dead end job and has to declare bankruptcy, this infuriates the mother who leaves 5 or 6 times but always manages to come back. Depp grows tired of the lifestyle and moves out to Cali with buddy Suplee where they come under the spell of mary jane. The two become regular dealers in Cali and hook up with another dealer named Derek FerReal played by what may be the best comeback performance in years, you guessed it folks...PEE-WEE IS BACK! AND HE IS DAMNED FUNNY!!!! Paul Reubens is absolutely wonderful as a gay drug dealer who sweet talks the boys into a partnership.
Depp soon gets arrested and put in jail where he meets up with a Colombian named Diego who starts him on a cocaine diet and teaches him the trade. After being released Depp continues to flounder in Cali becoming a major trafficker as well as meeting Escobar, marrying the wild Cruz (strange sex scene between these two, almost like "Desperado"), and making more money than he count. The rest of the film is a profile of Depp and his downward spiral, losing his family, his money, his friends, his daughter and being arrested nurmerous times. The film drags in the middle and will remind many viewers of "Goodfellas", "Boogie Nights", and "Donnie Brasco" in the way music is used, the way shots are filmed, the pace of the story, and Depp's perfromance.
Overall, it was a decent flick but Depp has a terrible accent and seems to have recycled his costume from "Gilbert Grape" complete with rusty wig. Ruebens is terrific, Cruz is gorgeous, Liotta is good but miscast, he's too young to be Depp's father. The music is also quite good, lotsa Stones and other 70's hits. As stated this was just a screening and I got the feeling many were dissapointed around me, only a minority of people clapped as the lights went up. The ending is pretty predictable so I won't waste your time with it here but, overall, a pretty decent flick.
If you can use this call me,
Bearby
