Cocaine Godmother (2017 TV Movie) User Reviews

Horror-able!

[Ed-Shullivan · 5/10 · 25 March 2018]

The real Cocaine Grandmother, Griselda Blanco was known for executing literally hundreds of men, women, and even children who either interfered with her drug smuggling empire, or who simply pissed her off. In reality, being remotely involved with Griselda Blanco and her drug cartel empire was enough of a reason for considering a person to already have one foot in the grave including her sons and various husbands.

This loosely based biography has the attractive Catherine Zeta-Jones attempting rather poorly to represent Griselda Blanco as the bi-sexual mother and wife as well as the vicious and extremely homely real-life cocaine grandmother. What results is a less than inspiring attempt at a high level historical adaptation of the cocaine grandmother, her sons, husbands, and lovers outwitting the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agents) for decades all rolled up in a two (2) hour film I would call a non event, worthy of only a mediocre 5 out of 10 rating.

La Madrina

[lavatch · 7/10 · 20 May 2018]

This film biography of Griselda Blanco, one of the linchpins of the Medellín Cartel, features a towering performance by Catherine Zeta-Jones. A central metaphor of the film is the "prison" in which La Madrina exists in perpetuity, much of which by her own choosing.

In the first section of the film, it is impossible not to feel empathy for Griselda, who was brutally abused as a child in Colombia, then lived in an abusive relationship with her husband in New York. She is depicted as creative in her skillful work in international drug running. Thus far, it is possible to empathize with this stalwart and indomitable character. But can she escape her metaphorical prison?

There is a turning point where La Madrina becomes vindictive and guilty of a hubris that eventually leads her to be responsible for 200 murders. One of the early victims is the father of the girlfriend of her teenage son. It is at that point in the film that the audience loses any empathy for a powerful woman, whose lapses in judgment led to cocaine addiction and gratuitous violence in order to maintain her foothold in the drug-running enterprise of Miami. One of the most touching relationships in the film is Griselda's relationship with Carolina, a woman who genuinely loves her. But, eventually, Griselda even turns on Carolina, who was her greatest source of support.

A major cinematic reference in the film is Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather, Part II." Griselda names her fourth son Michael after Al Pacino's character, Michael Corleone. But there is a major difference between Michael Corleone, who at least struggles with the guilt of his crimes and makes an effort to turn his crime family into a legitimate business enterprise.

By contrast, Griselda and her tag-team partner, Pablo Escobar, are a pair of amoral, one-dimensional crime lords. The paranoia that results in the wanton killing a family and two children, as well as the notorious Dadeland Mall Massacre of July 11, 1979, reveal the paranoia of a woman who really does not understand the uses of power. Ironically, her major takeaway from "The Godfather, Part II" is Don Ciccio's line, "don't even leave a seed" from your enemies, which only reveals her stupidity and lack of vision.

Griselda eventually comes full circle in her life, returning to a "prison" that is a state of mind as much as a physical reality. From Medellín to New York to Miami to Los Angeles to Irvine, La Madrina has never really been free. By the end, she realizes that she has been in prison "since the day I was born." From child abuse, to the thrill of drug running, to cocaine addiction, to a breakneck pace in trying to evade the law, Griselda only became free when she met her maker at the point she started in Medellín, Colombia. Ciao, Cara.

It Was Okay

[rutzelb · 7/10 · 23 May 2018]

This is based upon a true story

DEA Agent Jimmy (Warren Christie) narrates most of this movie in his efforts to find and put the Cocaine Godmother, Griselda Blanco (Catherine Zeta Jones) in jail.

Griselda ruled the 1970s drug trade and was creative in using: the elderly to act as mules to carry drugs, suitcases with false bottoms, drive-by hits on motorcycles and beautiful women who hid drugs on their person. She is also credited with over 200 murders to include children and didn't let anyone get In her way. She was a cocaine addict and murdered three of her husbands. She was also openly bi-sexual. One of her partners was Pablo Escobar (Darcy Laurie), who didn't like her methods but left her alone because she moved more product than anyone else.

Griselda was always one step ahead of the DEA as she moved around a lot from Colombia, New York, Miami, and California. Her sons were also in her drug business.

Catherine Zeta Jones did a good job as Griselda although there were many Latino women who could have played the role. Since we don't know what Griselda was really like, we cannot criticize how Catherine Zeta Jones performed, but from what we saw, she did okay. There was a lot put in to this 2-hr production, and the pacing and the acting all around were good.

Notables: Jenny Pellicer as Carolina, Griselda's main squeeze; Raul Mendez as Dario Sepulveda, who was Pablo Escobar's informant and later he becomes Griselda's third husband.

It is kind of strange that we always knew about Pablo Escobar, but never heard of Griselda Blanco until now. What else is out there for us to find out about? Huh? (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: Yes. Nudity: No. Lesbian scenes: Yes. Humor: No. Language: No. Rating: B

An excellent made for TV Movie!

[dejavuicutooo · 7/10 · 22 February 2018]

I don't why they haven't made more movies about Griselda Blanco, regarding the fact that she was one of the leading people responsible for the drug war in the 70-80's, other than the fact that she was a woman. She was a major player within the drug game, but like I said because she was a woman, she doesn't get movies like "Blow" and "American Made", even though many kingpins probably got their cocaine from her. Anyway, the movie I thought for a made for TV film was decent, not Oscar worthy, nor Raspberry worthy, lol. Like when Carolina's eyes move lying in the bed, I laughed, (you will know what I am talking about when you see it). Otherwise, I enjoyed the movie, and thought it was a good film. I stayed focused throughout the movie. If it had a more of a budget, the movie could have been a lot bigger than what it was.

COLOMBIA - NOT COLUMBIA

[ezea-97001 · 7 February 2018]

In the description It should read...The real Life of a ColOmbian drug lord.

I'm just hear to read the comments from ppl complaining why CZJ was cast as Griselda

[natcalgary · 6/10 · 20 February 2019]

I knew there would be lots of them. She was cast because she was the best option. She did a great acting job even if the movie wasn't factually correct,

6.1

She was one of a kind

[crowjake-07362 · 4/10 · 22 January 2018]

Any movie made about GB is risky. About all I can say is that if you're not from Medellin, Colombia you will never capture the flavor of its people, good or bad. Likewise there are many untruths in the movie, Alberto Bravo was not killed for infidelity nor that way. And La Madre never worked for Pablo Escobar. He actually muscled in on HER territory. At lease give her her infamous credit where it is due.

Fun to watch.

[undeaddt · 6/10 · 5 September 2020]

Even tho I don't know the story about Griselda Blanco, I am sure the storytelling here is completely inaccurate. Anyway, I did not mind spending the time watching this movie because it was fun, goofy, with great acting, plus Ketrin never seems to dissapoint, even in the most desperate movies. 6/10

Painfully Slow

[arfdawg-1 · 2/10 · 27 April 2018]

The life of drug lord Griselda Blanco, a pioneer in the Miami-based cocaine trade. At the age of 17, Griselda Blanco, made her way to the U.S. with a fake passport with her first husband Carlos. Living in Queens with her three sons, Griselda became enticed by the money the drug world offered, and quickly became embroiled with local drug runners. Griselda masterminded the use of beautiful women, the elderly and children as the mules and created false-bottom suitcases to smuggle cocaine from Colombia. With money rolling in, her sons abandoned school and entered the family business instead.

CZ Jones is good in the movie but man it is painfully slow. It's like they had to add a ton of padding to fill the allotted TV slot on Lifetime . The movie should have been in a 90minute slot -- in other words with the commercials out about 65-70 minutes .

The way it is now, it's just drags on and on until you want to shut it off.

Watching this movie right now and want to know Who's idea was it to Cast Catherine Zeta-Jones as Griselda Blanco?

[cfj-93814 · 2/10 · 1 August 2018]

Catherine Zeta-Jones is a talented actress who has made good films before (Chicago, etc.) But this one is a very bad choice for her. With all the talented Latina actresses out there couldn't they have found one to play Griselda, this more than life character? Just because a white woman has really dark hair does not a Latina she make. The accent is Horrible and there are times when you hear a slip of her Welsh come out. Not only that, but while her clothes are very nice, however they make her look old like she is 60 instead of a woman in her thirties. Those scarves make her look like a cancer patient(no disrespect to said patients). The music was great but Catherine danced horribly in it. She's a trained dancer and I am not sure why they had her "dancing" like that.

Lifetime, your movies are usually cheesy but everybody likes them so do better next time. If you want to do a movie about someone who is not white, make sure you cast actors that actually fit the role. It would be much more believable.

B-grade production that tells an interesting story

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 8/10 · 22 January 2018]

Guillermo Navarro, primarily know for his cinematography in some big blockbusters was also the director in this film. This was a bad decision.

His cinematography skills were absent in this film, and although his directing was decent behind the camera, he failed in directing his actors.. miserably.

The acting, even for a TV film, was very sub par. You can't put all the blame on Catherine Zeta-Jones, she did as well as she was directed (also considering she hasn't been active in her career lately), as did the rest of the cast. Perhaps the director did his best as well with such a poorly assembled screenplay by amateur Molly McAlpine (her first and only writing credit). Writer David McKenna did an ok job on a story that I feel would have been better produced as a blockbuster production, not a TV film.

The story was what kept me interested in this film, and it was told rather decent, even if narrated by the DEA agent (I'm not a fan of narrated films). I've never heard of Griselda Blanco until this film, and am shocked no one has decided to produced this as a blockbuster film, as there's much to tell in a far more interesting production that I fell would be a hit on the big screen. Maybe someone will finally step up now.

A great story that held my interest, even if produced poorly, even by made-for-TV standards. I'd probably see it again, but hopefully in a bigger, better big-screen production.

It's an 8/10 from me

everyone responsible for this should watch their back

[howboutthisone_huh · 1/10 · 9 May 2018]

I think if griselda was still alive and on top of her game she would either gives this movie a ten or kill everyone responsible for this making her look so stupid. Watch cc and cc2; much more interesting and actually factual. It's not about the money. Lots of good movies are made on the cheap. No, this is just bad writing, bad directing, and pretty much bad everything else. Too bad too because griselda, even though a violent charismatic psychopath, makes for a great story. Czj must be related to someone in the production or owe a favor. I'm sure she doesn't need the money so why would she make such a fool of herself. Or, maybe she took control of production and direction and just ran it off the rails. Well whoever is responsible for this schlock should buy up all the copies, burn them, hire a hacker to erase any trace on the web and then go into the witness protection program.

Ugh... horrible

[michaelwgorth · 1/10 · 4 December 2018]

If you know the real story of Griselda Blanco you'll realize how bad this movie is. Doesn't even come close to what really happened. You want to watch something, watch Cocaine Cowboys.!!! Because of that documentary, I really do not know why this movie was made.

Really bad movie

[mikeherway · 2/10 · 28 May 2018]

This is a poorly shot and produced movie. Almost shocking to see CZJ in a movie as low class as this one. Do not pay to see it!

A cheap presentation of the u.s. la femme al capone

[ops-52535 · 4/10 · 1 February 2018]

Well this was a slow low budget tv-production with one ''super star '' actor,trying to tell the story about griselda, which i would say was the most infamous drug queen-pin of all in american history.

i would instead in this review recommend the high octan documentaries COCAINE COWBOYS 1 AND 2 ,that gives a very in depth look,from the insiders driving this era of drug history.here you will also find a thouroghly told story about griselda,and what mighty powers and horrors she spread around the united states.

the acting in this film are at b/c-level,even zeta made a poor job on this set. it is a biographical film,but the presentation and pace are very slow. overall a dissapointment.

an easy '10'

[jcjs333 · 10/10 · 10 November 2018]

This would be a 'stoned review'...i picked this up at the video store without checking the rating prior to seeing it or hearing anything about it...risky...paid off...as i watched it i thought stuff like 'Soderburgh, Traffic, Zorro, (the show she played the Mexican artist was wow)...Tarentino's film where she danced, wow...Scorcese...wonderful camera shots...acting wonderful...Katherine is so much fun to watch and this story was as good , and moved along like , 'Goodfellas'...it is a wonderful 'tribute' to mobster films and is pulled off, as far as i'm concerned by a , woman...interesting story, too...i am hard pressed to find anything wrong with this film...Katherine blew me away...i mean Sharon Stone, Julie Christie good...great film

Worst drug movie I have ever seen

[matu_shogun · 3/10 · 22 December 2018]

Total garbage. I could barely watch it to the end.

Disjointed, uninteresting, fabricated.

[clars-843-102613 · 2/10 · 18 November 2020]

The story line of this movie lacks a complete substance that could have been easily avoided if they kept true to the actual facts. The fact the writers skewed to the side is a major reason why this movie failed for me, I have no idea why the writers fabricated so much in what I could only assume was an attempt to make it more interesting in their eyes. The narration was annoying and starts to grate away at the start only plunging this this film further down the drain. In the end its a drab poor boring story.

Boring... Missed opportunity

[edumendesfw · 3/10 · 10 February 2019]

There's absolutely nothing right about this film. The editing is so bad it should have never being approved. The performances from the cast are sub-par to say the least. Photography is OK but suffers with the horrible editing.

Waste of Time

[georgevlahakis · 1/10 · 8 August 2018]

A complete mess of a film. Poor acting from everyone involved. No direction. No vision. A waste of a very interesting story and person.

A wild rags to riches story

[ForU777 · 10/10 · 2 June 2018]

Catherine did a superb job in the fact filled exciting movie. Blanco was one of the richest lady in the world and this is her exciting story.

A must for all.

Not very accurate historically

[ScothMcBeast · 5/10 · 26 May 2018]

Obviously I wasn't there so who knows but based on other sources this tv-movie isn't portraying events of her life very accurately. Apparently she was all that, and some, but what other materials have shown she wasn't nearly that present at the killings. Also we are missing important people of her story such as Rivi (Jorge Ayala), or at least there is no character of his backstory and how they met. In the end if you'd like to get to know her I'd choose other material as source, if you're looking for some entertainment, again I'd go for other entertainment. But I guess it's watchable if you already have your popcorn and beer set up.

Don't waste your time

[harrellstevew · 1/10 · 1 July 2019]

The acting, the writing, the production...all of it was absolutely terrible. Catherine was a poor casting choice as well.

THE SCRIPT! THE CASTING! THE MUSIC! THE WARDROBE!

[diazaraceli · 5/10 · 14 November 2023]

Lifetime movies are usually pretty accurate, but this movie is full of inaccuracies and basically pure fiction! The writers took way too many creative liberties!

First of all, Griselda had a good relationship with her mother, and she took care of her until the very end. Also, her mother was a mulata, meaning she was mixed race.

Second, Griselda was not a lesbian. She had a particular fondness for tall, muscular black men.

Third, Griselda did not end up alone. She was surrounded by her extended family. She had her sisters, her nieces and nephews! A huge family.

Also, Catherine Zeta-Jones was TOO TALL . .. TOO THIN . . . And TOO PRETTY to portray Griselda. Griselda was short, fat and not conventionally pretty.

Furthermore, the wardrobe was totally off! Griselda was the original "buchona". She loved wearing tons of makeup, gaudy jewelry, long red fingernails, and she never wore dresses! Always tight pants with loose fitting blouses to cover up her muffin top.

In the movie, she was portrayed as being a cocaine addict. Nothing could be farther from the truith. Cocaine addicts are skinny! Griselda's vice was food! She indulged in overeating!

Finally, the music, all throughout the movie they played salsa. Salsa is popular in the Latin community, but the Cumbia is the national music of Colombia! Not a single cumbia was included in the movie's soundtrack.

Half a Star

[palmydean · 1/10 · 5 June 2020]

I watched this movie when it was on TV and found myself waiting for the commercials as they were more interesting than the film.