Hey folks, Harry here with the 3 reviews of BLOW that I've received this week thus far... I haven't picked up any negatives yet, though I have noticed in the Talk Backs for some of the BLOW articles, people that claim to not like and out right hate the film. I COMPLETELY DON'T GET THAT POINT OF VIEW, but you should be aware that some are reacting that way... (why?) Because that might be your reaction, though I hope not.
Hey Harry, last night there was a free preview of "Blow" here at my college. I'm the culture editor for the school newspaper, so I got a group together to go. Now, the last sneak-preview they showed on campus was for "Gladiator," so the people running the theater told people to start showing up early -- 7:30 for a 9:00 movie.
Myself and three other people from the paper decided to be complete geeks by being first in line and turned up at 7:00. Turns out this was a good move, because the people in charge of the theater gave out free posters to the first four people in line. The next two hours went by quickly as we all tried not to laugh at the freaky Russian guy behind us trying to hit on all the women who showed up. "I...uh, em radeing abaht kwan-toom theerie. Em I not cuhl?"
We were finally let into the theater, and picked out some choice seats. Other people on the newspaper who were stuck further back in line found us and we set up camp. After waiting ten minutes, the movie started.
Now, if you've seen the ads for "Blow" (Bobcat Goldthwait sniffing coke and then saying, "I can't feel my face") you might be expecting a comedy. Unfortunately, this is a horrible mistake by the marketing department. "Blow"s like "Boogie Nights" insofar as the early part is funny, but it takes on much darker tones as the film progresses. The first hour reminds me of "Almost Famous" in tone, but halfway through (the moment Pablo Escobar appears) it turns into what I'd categorize as a gangster movie -- with the mafia replaced by druglords.
But the change isn't because Jonathan Demme made an uneven film. No, the change in mood is there because that's the nature of Boston George's (Johnny Depp) life. Early on, he's just a pot dealer who's stumbled across a very lucrative market. Everything he does is fun and carefree. But as he becomes more and more enmeshed in the world of cocaine trafficking, his life changes, the fun goes away. Then Pablo Escobar comes on screen.... From then on, the funny scenes are few and far between -- even Paul "Pee Wee" Reuben's character stops being funny. The last half-hour in particular is grim, dark, and depressing, as Depp's character is betrayed repeatedly. Then the final scene comes and something happens that makes the last thirty minutes seem bright and cheerful.
(And while on the subject, I want to send a big "fuck you" to the idiot who laughed at the final scene. I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say that laughing at that point is like laughing when the girl in red is killed in "Schindler's List".)
Almost every performance in the movie was strong, with one exception: Penelope Cruz. It's not that she was bad, but she was outperformed by everyone around her, from Depp to Reubens. As someone said coming out of the theater, any other hispanic actress could've played Cruz's part and played it better -- including Jennifer Lopez! Fortunately, she never had to act a scene alone; someone was always with her.
There was also one performance that stands out above all others: Ray Liotta as Depp's father. I don't think he's put in a performance this good since "Goodfellas". (Okay, maybe "Operation Dumbo Drop" ... :) ) If "Blow" is nominated for anything at the Oscars next year, it'll be for Liotta's part.
Of the eight people I saw the movie with, only one didn't like it, and her reason was that the ending was just too bleak. She admits the movie is well acted, well directed, well filmed, but she didn't like the dark tone. Which is why I feel the ads for "Blow" are too misleading. Anyone who goes in expecting lots of "I can't feel my face" jokes will be disappointed after the first half. A more representative approach would be to treat the movie like "Goodfellas" -- and I recommend this movie to anyone who likes gangster films.
--
Sean
And next comes Edison, who took some much needed restful time out of his inventing schedule to let us know his thoughts about BLOW...
Edison here with a few words about the latest from director Ted Demme,
BLOW.
Just the other night I was toiling away at my workbench late into the evening working on another of my wonderful inventions, when I heard a knocking upon my door. I went to investigate and found it was the local college kids again (they just love me). "Hey you old coot!" they shouted. "Get off your ancient ass and come watch Blow with us."
Well, I'm a sucker for the soft sell, so I threw the tarp over my bench, locked some blueprints in the vault, grabbed my hat and cane, and headed off for the University.
Thanks to my prestige, we were ushered in and seated before the ticketed masses, assuring us the best seats in the house. It was a rowdy crowd of youngsters, but the energy in the room was good, sufficient to light several of my patented 'electric lighting apparatuses'. The film began, and I was happy to hear the room burst into cheers when Paul Reubens' name appeared on the credits.
Now, about the film. To sum it up in one word: uneven. There were parts of this movie that I loved, parts that were a great deal of fun to watch. The performances of Johnny Depp as George Jung, Ray Liotta as his father, Paul (Pee-Wee who?) Reubens as Derek Foreal, well they were all solid, and at times inspired. Director Demme also did a wonderful job of conjuring each of the different eras that the story spans. He actually used the same lenses, film stock and color palettes that were used in each of the respective time periods. The effect was magic. It truly looks as if they used a time machine to film many of the sequences in the movie (note to self...start work on "time machine").
Yet as much as there was here to like, the BLOW kept getting in it's own way. I consider Goodfellas one of my favorite films, and apparently, so does Demme. He has been quoted as saying that he was heavily inspired by the Scorcese gangster flick, wearing out two copies while making BLOW. The problem is that at times it feels as if BLOW is trying to be the same film. Many of the same techniques are used in both films. To be fair, Demme does manage to work in some very clever shots of his own. A few other hindrances that keep this movie from really soaring are the story, which while interesting and entertaining, is at times slow, and generally predictable. Finally, the performances of both Penelope Cruz as Jung's wife, and particularly Rachel Griffiths, as Jung's mother, are just annoying. Griffiths' Boston accent is overdone to the point of ruining potentially beautiful and heartbreaking scenes. She plays the part as if she's in the off-off-Broadway production of BLOW: The Musical! and she can't WAIT to burst into a lamenting song.
I wanted to love this movie, I merely liked it. I wanted this to be a great film, and I found it to be good. It is worth seeing, especially if you are a big fan of Depp, Liotta, Reubens, or movies with great music. Demme put a lot of work into BLOW and it shows, it just doesn't shine.
Until inspiration strikes again, I'll be in the workshop.
--Edison
And here's Mikey to spoon through BLOW...
Hi Harry. Great site. Got a call today around 5pm PST from my friend asking me if I wanted to catch the new movie BLOW by Ted Demme. Of course I said YES!!!! Well, apparently the theatre he works at is often used for screenings. This was the employee screening for New Line Cinema. Waaay too many beemers and suvs in the parking lot. Anyway, this is a great film. Johnny Depp was awesome as the guys who can't get things right in his life. Ray Liotta plays his father in a nice feel good way, a father who cares too much to get mad at his son and just wishes he had made better choices. The movies starts off with a scene that reappears about 3/4 to 5/6 of the way into the movie. It's a long one too. About 2+ hours. It shows the making of Cocaine and Johnny Depp picking it up and saying how good the product is. Then they show his childhood and what his family was like growing up. As i said Ray Liotta plays his fater great and his mother...well, his mother is something else. Lets just say that his dad had alot of love for her. Not complacent with living in New England, George moves out to California for and settles down into a nice little pot dealing trade with none other than, *GASP*, Pee Wee Herman! He sure can play the gay guy role good. Well, things move along good, he makes great money in the pot, and everything is fine and dandy. But he wants a bigger operation so they go down to mexico and ask everyone, literaly everyone, where they can find some pot. They find ALOT. Then give it to Pee Wee as a christmas gift. George is known as Boston George and becomes famous around the sunny beaches. He finds a nice wife and they settle down and everything seems fine and dandy. So he introduces her to his parents..and well. One thing, this guy gets busted ALOT. How can one man get caught so many times. Not only caught, but screwed over by the people closest to him. Well, Eventually he starts dealing Cocaine and satrts handling kilos and millions of dollars. Penelope Cruz is such a crack whore in this picture...how can two people snort soo much cocaine? oh well. the ending is cool and I loved it. sorry bout all the spoilers but i had to tell the story right? The directing is awesome and i love his use of pauses and still pictures. Great film, sad ending, awesome ride. so long harry
-call me mikey, as in the mikey from the commercials "he likes it he likes it!"
