'BLOW' SIZZLES WITH SOLID PERFORMANCES

(U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. -- How does one go from New England hick to
multi-millionaire in a few years? Just ask George Jung, who did it before
in real life and on the big screen in the epic true story "Blow," a
sizzling rocket of a motion picture about a rags to riches drug king that
thrills, captivates and rips the heart out of an audience.

In the movie "Scarface," Al Pacino plays a drug king, too. But before his
rise, his boss tells him that in order to survive in the drug business, he
must stay low key. He must try not to get it all at once.

Perhaps George Jung should have taken this advice. Maybe he would have if
he had not already been supplying the entire West Coast with cocaine by the
time the movie "Scarface" was made.

Pacino's character doesn't heed this advice, and he ends up dying because
of his pride and his desire to have it all.

But George Jung wasn't like Pacino's character.

He didn't want it all at once. All he wanted was to get out of New England
and take in the sun and good times of late 1960's California.

The only problem is that George didn't want to work.

A pot connection and a stewardess girlfriend solve this problem when George
realizes he can send pot back East with his girlfriend and sell it for
twice as much.

Greed sets in, and George is selling more pot than he can get. So he goes
to Mexico where he can find more pot.

Before you know it, George is tremendously rich and then in prison after
being caught with over 600 pounds of pot.

Although Depp's work as George Jung is great, the best performance in the
movie is by far that of Jordi Moll in his portrayal of Diego Delgado,
Jung's cellmate in prison.

Moll is quite brilliant at his craft, pulling off the mystery and elegance
of this smooth talking double timer who introduces Jung to a Columbian cartel.

Using his California pot connection, Jung becomes a West Coast cocaine man
during the 1980s, takes a Columbian wife (Penelope Cruz) and settles down
with his money safely in a Central American bank.

End of story right?

Not really, as a few other things happen in this movie that make it
different than that ending, or a shoot-'em-up gangster movie.

First of all, this story isn't about a heartless drug lord who kills
everyone he sees and travels with an entourage everywhere he goes.

Sure, Jung is drug dealing scum, but a monster he is not and herein lies
the essence of the film.

Throughout the film, one roots for Depp's character Jung as he takes us
through the highs and lows of a person who is both blessed and ultimately
cursed in his life.

Depp shows us how Jung can be good as well as bad and how sometimes bad
people may not really be villains.

But ultimately Jung is trapped in the life that he has made for himself,
and his inability to leave it is his ultimate downfall.

Depp's and Moll's performances are not the only good ones in this feature
as the list is long.

Notable others are Ray Leota, who plays Jung's father, and Paul Reubens
(Pee Wee Herman), who plays Jung's initial California pot connection and
eventual cocaine distributor, and also Jung's girlfriend Barbara, played by
Franka Potente, who dies of cancer and steals parts of the beginning.

Director Ted Demme combines parts of movies like "The Doors," "Scarface,"
"James Bond" and "Goodfellas" to create a movie that is big, bold and
beautiful in its scope.

The great acting and the big-time production of this movie combine to give
a message about drugs that millions of dollars and and years government
campaigns could not.

"Blow" Rated R. Directed by Ted Demme. Starring Jonny Depp Penelope Cruz,
Ray Leota and Paul Ruebens. Opens Friday.