(rated R, 122 mins) …blew me away! Move over Steven Soderbergh! This is the movie that will put Director Ted Demme (“Beautiful Girls” “Monument Ave.”) over the top! A look at the life of George Jung (Johnny Depp), the first American to become the conduit to the Colombian Cocaine Cartel. The story opens with a voice over of the young Jung’s perspective of life and money, witnessing his parent’s (Ray Liota and Rachel Griffiths) love loss. Old enough to leave his old-fashioned Boston roots, Jung spreads his wings to land in the liberated free-love world of California where he and his best friend Tuna (Ethan Suplee) discover a get-rich-quick scheme that begins to snowball. Their lives interweave with many boogie-men types including a flamboyant hair dresser, Derek Foreal, portrayed with much gusto by Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman). Eventually Jung’s greed kicks in and he is forced to recognize his father’s words of love/money through the responsibility of a wife (Penelope Cruz) and their daughter (Emma Roberts) and of course, its consequences. Each and every role delivers the perfect marriage of character and actor. In the wake of all the “Traffic” hype, which slaps us with the realities behind drug trafficking, Demme’s film manages the reverse, pumping out slick visuals, and funky soundtrack that steal the audience onto George Jung’s side, sympathizing all the way to his demise. Not since Warren Beatty in “Bugsy” have I so much condoned a lovable bad guy.
