How To Make Money Selling Drugs
Directed by Matthew Cooke
Produced by Adrien Grenier
In UK Cinemas December 26th, 2013
by Joanna Orland
This super slick documentary was the opening gala of this year’s Raindance Film Festival. It certainly deserves the honour with its glossy presentation style, hilarious interviews, and enlightening information about the billion dollar drug industry. Presented to the audience as an educational video on how to make money selling drugs in ten easy steps, the documentary is never preachy or dull in spite of its clear left-leaning views.
While the style and soundtrack are key in making this film as polished as it is, it is the interview subjects that make it interesting. Matthew Cooke not only skims the surface by talking to celebrities including Susan Sarandon, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Woody Harrelson who all have strong views on drug laws, but he also gains access to some serious players at each level of the drug trade, from narc, to street hustler, to kingpin. It’s amazing that he got these people to agree to tell their stories on camera, but also the details of their stories are shocking. This film is a must watch for anyone with liberal views on the matter, who fancy some further insight into the trade, and also a bit of a laugh as the characters in this film are quality.