Review – Traffic

Kids, just say no to stinkers like this. I’m not exactly Mr. Everybody Must Get Stoned, but if this is the alternative then it’s actually worse. Honestly, anti-drug screed this stupid hasn’t graced the silver screen since the days of Reefer Madness. Here we have four loosely-intertwined subplots all centered around the drug trade. The stories range from a mildly interesting tale of a Mexican cop (Benicio Del Toro) caught up in a web of corruption all the way down to the sad saga of a newly-appointed Drug Czar (Michael Douglas) with an addict for a daughter. Particularly in the Douglas piece, the treatment of the subject is so stupid it borders on offensive; the thesis appears to be that if rich white girls are allowed to get hooked on drugs, they become sex-crazed junkies who grant carnal favors to black guys in exchange for a fix. Even the basic film-making technique is off, heavily emphasizing amateurish gimmicks such as heavy filtration and jump cutting. Though this crud picked up four Oscars, I hope the passage of time will help make it as laughable as its predecessors from the 30s through the 60s. See if desperate