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Rush (1991)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 7/14, 3/21

Rush
7/14: What's one possible way for narcs to catch drug dealers?

Simple! Do what the addicts do: inject drugs into their bodies. What an amazing concept. Of course, the theory will never work, but that's what happened here.

Obviously, the logic of the plot is against every ounce of common sense there is. The simple fact is: nobody can handle heroin, period. It's a hell of a lot easier to surveil the buys and make the busts afterwards.

The promise I saw during the first thirty minutes with The Lost Boys' Jason Patric, who's the show, quickly dissipates, and the rest turns out to be your average drug junkie picture. Jennifer Jason Leigh shows she can act and will be better in later films.

All in all, Rush is a good try, but I can't suspend my disbelief for this one.

3/21: My opinion of Rush is better now, but it's still a dumb, underwhelming picture.

The acting is uniformly good, especially from Jason Patric, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sam Elliott, and Max Perlich. Despite that, what's tough to overcome is the implausibility of the story. The simple answer should be: make the deal and catch them in the act. Some soldiers will break rank and confess against the higher-ups in exchange for a lenient plea deal.

Instead, the lead characters have turned into junkies. Almost the whole film is about them battling against addiction. Here's the interesting thing: everybody else on drugs seems to handle it pretty well as compared to the undercover cops who folded like a lawn chair within weeks. Another is Gregg Allman may look good on screen but drug and alcohol abuse would ruin his appearance the next three decades until his death in 2017.

The filmmakers claim the time period is during the 70's. Ha! No way. It's very modern...like 1991. It's based on Kim Wozencraft's book which happened to her while working undercover in Tyler, Texas. She manufactured evidence in almost 200 drug cases, was found guilty of perjury and civil rights violations, and got sentenced 1.5 years in federal prison.

All in all, Rush doesn't have much of a plot, but it's worth watching primarily for the thespians.