Parents' Guide to

Blow

By M. Faust, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Uneven drug trade story has explicit drug use.

Movie R 2003 119 minutes
Blow Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 17+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Sody420
Sody420 Adult
October 14, 2019
age 17+

Blow

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
wonder dove
wonder dove Adult
November 10, 2012
age 17+

Excellent true story...

True story about George Jung (Johnny Depp) and his experience with selling cocaine. Georges' wish had always been to have money and to never be poor. He grew up in a poor family with fighting parents and a mother he's never really been close to. After experimenting with selling marijuana, it wasn't enough for George, he wanted more! While getting busted the first time and going to jail, he meets his inmate, who convinces George the fortune he could make selling Blow (Cocaine). Together, they make it happen. After losing his girlfriend to cancer and meeting another woman (Penelope Cruz) he marries her and has a beautiful little girl Christina (Emma Roberts) who is later taken from him when he & his wife divorce. George loses a lot in his life and the story is extremely sad. He is a very decent, kind man who loves to share and help others. He is not a bad spirited person! The film will have you in tears toward the end. Lots of violence shown (mainly beatings, also the slapping of a woman). Strong language including lots of "f" words. Some sexual content (innuendo, flirting, kissing, women in bikinis). Graphic drug use & discussions, plants & substances shown. A++ film with a positive message.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

BLOW explores a time in recent history when changing social norms seemed to offer a tidal wave of commercial opportunity for someone inclined to take advantage of the situation. As played by Johnny Depp, George is less a villain than a young go-getter at the wrong time and place. He finds it easy to ignore the evils of a trade that offers him enormous amounts of money, a chance to exercise his wits, and a constant adrenaline rush from making up the rules as he goes along. In the funniest scene, George condescendingly tells a federal judge that he doesn't feel that what he did--importing and selling marijuana in the early 1970s--was a crime, quoting Bob Dylan to bolster his case. (You can see on the judge's face that she's adding months to his sentence with every word he says.)

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (6):

Borrowing more than a bit from GoodFellas and Boogie Nights, Blow works better as a character study than as a history of America's obsession with drugs. It's a subject on which the script presumes viewers will already have some perspective.

Depp is excellent as usual, and there are some very moving scenes near the end of the movie with George's father (Ray Liotta) and his own young daughter, who turns her back on him. Parents will need to fill in the blanks and discuss with their teens the larger cultural issues associated with the importing of cocaine and marijuana.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the larger cultural issues associated with the importing of cocaine and marijuana.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: February 4, 2003
  • On DVD or streaming: February 4, 2003
  • Cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ray Liotta
  • Director: Ted Demme
  • Studio: New Line
  • Genre: Drama
  • Run time: 119 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: pervasive drug content and language, some violence and sexuality
  • Last updated: April 3, 2023

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