Cocaine Cowboys 2

Cocaine Cowboys II was disappointing. If you watched any documentaries about the Miami cocaine wars you'll see the same tired recycled stock footage and photos. The story of Griselda Blanco is interesting. She was drug kingpin that is attributed to over 200 hundred murders. I can't fault Director Billy Corben. It's hard to tell a story that has been done to death.

Charles Crosby rode to the top of the Oakland drug trade by becoming the kept man of Griselda Blanco. He has charisma in front of the camera has he tells his story. To break up the talking head factor of this DVD cartoonish reenactments are shown as he recalls past events. It looked like something out of Sin City. I didn't like reenactments.

If you've never heard of Griselda Blanco then this DVD could be worth a rent. If you watched other documentaries on the Miami drug trade this one will be a snoozer.

This was one of the worst documentaries I've ever watched. Operating off of the strength of the first "Cocaine Cowboys," CC2 is a far cry from its predecessor. It's a single person narrative by Charles Anthony Crosby of his exploits in the crack game and his worship of Griselda Blanco aka the Godmother. When I say worship this is not an overstatement. This guy emotionally waxes on giving us a full detailed bio of Griselda, her rise to a powerful cocaine trafficker, and his romantic relationship with her.

Charles Anthony Crosby rambles on for almost two hours of which is mostly an ode to Griselda. He spits out one unverifiable story after another in his barely contrite/mostly laudatory life tale of drug dealing. To bolster his yarns were a few other cartoonish characters--and some actual cartoons--who heaped praise on their one-time cash cow and mentor in the crack game.

As much as he was telling I thought he had served time for his crimes. Apparently, he did not. So either there is a statute of limitations on all of his crimes or he was lying his ass off. This "documentary" was a way for him to let the world know how big he was in the crack game so maybe he'll be mentioned in the next Rick Ross rap song.

Director Billy Corben struck gold with 'Cocaine Cowboys' so naturally he followed up with a sequel 'Hustlin' With the Godmother' two years later and ... it's a big step down. Once again top dog / horrible character Griselda Blanco's tale gets explored. The problem is when not recycling facts, interviews from the original doc, the focus goes to Charles Cosby and much of it is either unverified, bragging or mundane.

After things fall apart in Miami, Griselda relocates to California but the DEA catch up to her. After a trial in 1985 she's sentenced to 15 years and it's front page news. Small time Oakland drug dealer Charles Cosby sees this, starts idolizing her and in the early 90's ends up writing to her behind bars. It leaves an impression on the woman and they strike up a relationship. Even incarcerated she's calling the shots and her empire is still doing $40 million worth of drug business a year and now Cosby works for, sexes the lady he once only knew by reputation.

It can't be downplayed how much is filler. Listening to her #1 hitman "Rivi" Ayala behind bars again. Same snippets with Blanco's former lawyer Luis Casuso, DEA Agent Bob Palombo, Miami police officers Al Singleton & Nelson Andreu. Then you have some silly animated cutscenes and words from some of Cosby's associates to fill the air. There's no denying Charles knew Griselda, was involved with her but there's an eager energy to feel more important, bigger than I suspect he actually was. It's always Cosby talking about himself. Vintage pics, camcorder vids hyping his own exploits.

'Hustlin' With the Godmother' remains passably because of Blanco and Rivi. Plus the whole thing is only 90 minutes long. Cosby's tale doesn't add any new substance to Blanco's tale and running thru his life story, filling in blanks about the women herself is up for question. He's also not the smartest cat if you believe what he has to say. Stick with the first 'Cocaine Cowboys' particularly the 'Reloaded' cut.

A second Cocaine Cowboys documentary. For years many fans of the crime genre have only heard stories about Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel, we now get a glimpse of the Miami 1980's cocaine era. The fast-paced documentary is directed by Bill Corben (Raw Deal) and edited by David Cypkin. A lot of real life Scarface stories. The documentary actually makes Scarface look like a choir boy. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction definitely holds merit in this case. The documentary was received well by the crowd. The rap scene particularly seems to love the documentary. Songs were recorded in dedication of Griselda Blanco. DVD's were shot in dedication of Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday. The Miami premiere of CC2 even shows a person with a tattoo of Griselda Blanco on his arm. CC1 turned into a cult. Corben decided to make a second part.

While CC1 focused on the cocaine era on a large scale, CC2 focuses more on Charles Cosby and Griselda Blanco. Cosby was a big-time cocaine distributor in the Oakland area. The documentary shows the come up of Cosby, his relationship with Griselda Blanco during her stay in prison and we get some more information on Griselda during the cocaine era.

CC2 gives us more information on Blanco's childhood. It give us insight in what made this woman so ruthless. What I noticed from watching documentaries on Escobar and this documentary is that Escobar and Blanco grew up in horrific circumstances. It's not that surprising that they hold little value for human life. Columbia was in very bad shape at that time and it left a mark on the young generation.

CC2 is slower in pace then CC1 but that doesn't mean much. CC1 was very high paced. With CC2 Corben does an excellent job of grabbing the audience by the throat and never letting them go. CC2 uses cartoons to illustrate certain events. Not only does it look impressive visually, but it also illustrated the surrealness of the CC story. Of course this style is also used because you can look at the narrators face for so long before you get bored. The music used in this documentary is rap. Rap made specially for the documentary.

The filmmaker does a good job of not only talking to the police about the Cocaine Cowboys but also talks to the Cocaine Cowboys themselves. CC2 has fewer interviews with officials. Cosby does most of the talking. This gives you insight in the cocaine business, but this is also tricky. You must remember you're dealing with big time criminals here. Cosby was head of the largest cocaine distribution network in Oakland and lover and close business partner of someone who's accused of being involved in more then 200 murders. He isn't going to give specific information about certain events, because he would be incriminating himself. Regardless of this I never really felt that I as the viewer was being lied to or was giving half truths. I think the filmmakers did the best they could to get this documentary as close to the truth as possible.

Bottom line: A fascinating, well told story. While some might enjoy it less then CC1, it's still good. With the focus on Oakland drug lord Charles Cosby and queen of cocaine Griselda Blanco.

8/10

Have a drink whenever someone says "Know what I'm sayin".