Blow

Growing up in a financially strained household in the 1950s, George Jung watches his family collapse as they lose everything. Determined not to repeat that fate, he slides into the marijuana trade with a friend in the 1960s and becomes a rising figure on the West Coast. A spell in prison exposes him to harder drugs and bigger ambitions. After release, George launches a sprawling cocaine enterprise that reshapes his life and the lives of those around him. The pursuit of wealth tests loyalty, family, and the line between dream and crime. The film uses period detail to place viewers in the era of California freeways, open air markets, and risk. Its humor and stark consequences keep the story grounded.

Directed by Ted Demme, Blow blends crime drama with biographical elements. It stars Johnny Depp as George Jung and Penélope Cruz as Mirtha Jung, with a screenplay credited to Nick Cassavetes and David McKenna, drawing on true events and realism.

Blow grossed roughly 83.3 million worldwide against a 53 million budget, making it a solid commercial success for a mid-budget crime drama released in the early 2000s, and it helped raise Johnny Depp's star power in a prestige genre globally.

Depp's magnetic turn anchors the film turning a cautionary tale about the drug trade into a stylish, high-energy portrait of a man chasing status. The movie helped popularize a late 70s and 80s narcotics era as cinema territory, influencing later crime dramas and sparking conversations about wealth and risk today.

Critics noted Depp's performance and the film's brisk pacing while wrestling with themes of ambition, family loyalty, and the personal cost of crime. The screenplay balances humor with gravity, offering a truly sharp portrait of how a dream can derail a life and reveal the heavy price of chasing wealth.