Pun Salad

Ah, Clint's still got it, as an actor and director.

He actually plays someone older in this movie. Specifically, Earl Stone, once a successful breeder and grower of daylilies. An opening scene sets up his character: he's a charming curmudgeon, beloved in the commercial flower-growing community (yes, that apparently exists). But at the price of neglecting his family, who are understandably pissed.

Jump forward about twelve years; Earl is still around, but he's neglected to adapt his business to modern ways, and it's in foreclosure. By a fortuitous coincidence, an attendee at his granddaughter's wedding hooks him up with local drug dealers, and before you know it, Earl's transporting cocaine around the USA for the cartel.

This relieves his monetary woes. And he helps various worthy causes after that. Being a mule is lucrative. But also (as you might guess) dangerous. His interactions with his superiors are initially fractious. But he charms most of them. Still, his cantankerous ways make him sort of a loose cannon, which a successful criminal organization cannot abide.

Also, his growing reputation within the cartel brings him to the attention of the DEA. Through informants, wiretaps, and surveillance, their net draws tighter.

It seems being in a Clint Eastwood movie appeals to a lot of people. Bradley Cooper (a seven-time Oscar nominee) plays a supporting role as a hotshot DEA agent. Also Michael Peña, Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia, Dianne Wiest, ….