American Made (2017) * * *

Directed by:  Doug Liman

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Sarah Wright, Domhnall Gleeson, Caleb Landry Jones, Jesse Plemons

Barry Seal (Cruise) is a TWA pilot bored with his job who starts working for the CIA after a job offer from agent Schafer (Gleeson).   Schafer promises riches and assures Barry "it isn't illegal if you're doing it for the good guys,"    The job?    At first, it is to fly a charter plane over Central and South America and take surveillance photos of reputed Communist guerilla camps.    Then, during a stop in Colombia, Barry is offered a chance by the then-upstart Medellin cartel to expand his job description by flying cocaine into the U.S. in his charter plane.    The money starts flowing in (more like gushing) and the early 80's is good for Barry Seal, the South American cartels, and the CIA.    The money comes in so fast and furious Barry (even after laundering plenty of it in seven different Arkansas banks) has to find places to stash his bagsful of cash.     We should all have his problems.

But, as is typical with stories like this, a scenario too good to be true usually is, and complications arise which threaten Barry's life as well as his family's.     He makes an enemy out of the Medellin cartel, which is one enemy you surely don't want, and the U.S. government abandons him also in the wake of every agency breathing down Barry's neck.    He no longer is able to fly his routes (which expanded to running guns to various parties and flying in Contras to the U.S. for "training") and once the bucks stop coming, Barry is on his own. 

American Made tells Barry's story as black comedy, relying heavily on Tom Cruise's charm to pull it through, which it does.    It is a relief to see Cruise finally not jumping off things, chasing bad guys, or shooting arch villains.    In American Made, he plays an ordinary guy who jumps headlong into a situation with more downside than he could foresee.    As Barry tells the camera during a videotaped confessional, "I probably should have asked more questions before I jumped,"    Barry's motivations are clear enough.    He wants adventure, excitement, and to make stupid amounts of money, not necessarily in that order.    Or maybe it is.    We never see Barry truly enjoying his newfound riches.   Those moments are set aside for his wife Lucy (Wright) and children, while Barry tirelessly puts his life and freedom on the line flying guns, drugs, and money to various destinations with ever-increasing danger lurking.    If the government doesn't get him, an angry customer (i.e. Pablo Escobar or Manuel Noriega) will.   Life is good for Barry, until suddenly it isn't.

The movie itself never delves too deep and maintains a consistently light tone while not underselling the danger Barry undertakes which soon threatens to engulf him.     He doesn't appear to be caught up in the trappings of distributing cocaine, such as getting hooked on the drug itself, nor does he actually do anything really dumb to draw attention to himself.     The issue becomes there is so much money that the amounts can't help but trigger red flags from the FBI, DEA, and other alphabet soup agencies.    Why is an Arkansas town with a population of 2,407 suddenly dealing in large deposits?     And what does Schafer, seemingly a pencil pusher assigned to a small cubicle in Washington, stand to gain from all of this?     Schafer is played with shadowy charm by Gleeson, who seems to appear out of nowhere at various points to provide Barry with either encouraging or grim news about their operation.  

Several historical figures are introduced, including Col. Oliver North, Escobar, Noriega, a brief appearance by George W. Bush, and indirectly Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush through news footage.     As Ronald and Nancy push the war on drugs agenda on TV, there is reason to suspect the President knew plenty about the CIA dealings before political alliances shifted and our allies soon became our enemies, leaving Barry out in the cold.     As one DEA agent coldly informs Barry, "You knew the risks,"    One wonders if Barry would have stayed at TWA if he knew what fate would eventually await him.     After watching American Made, flying all over the U.S. as an anonymous pilot doesn't seem like such a bad career choice.