Blow is a 2001
drama/
biopic film about the
American cocaine smuggler George Jung,
directed by
Ted Demme.
David McKenna and
Nick Cassavetes adapted Bruce Porter's 1993 book
Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All for the screenplay. It is based on the real life stories of
George Jung,
Pablo Escobar,
Carlos Lehder, and the
Medellín Cartel. The film's title comes from a slang term for
cocaine.
Plot
The film opens to a young George and his parents Fred (
Ray Liotta) and Ermine (
Rachel Griffiths). George's father never wanted to argue in front of the boy. The boy's father supports his family in
Weymouth, Massachusetts by running a small plumbing company. His mother is constantly complaining that the family has no money and badgers her husband, asking him what they are going to do. Finally, despite Fred's relentless efforts to keep the family afloat, they eventually have to file for bankruptcy and lose everything. The boy decides then that he will not let the same fate befall him.