DVD Review: Square Grouper

Posted On: April 20, 2011
Posted By: odeisel
Comments: 1

By Malice Intended

Before the cocaine craze of the 1970’s turned the streets of Miami into a battlefield, South Florida was a major smuggling port for marijuana. Smugglers would fish “square groupers,” or bails of marijuana discarded by planes being pursued by authorities, out of the water. Three groups in particular imported huge of amounts of the drug onto American shores in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Their exploits are not as blood-soaked as those of the Medellin cartel, but no less infamous.

Director Billy Corben has dedicated his talents to documenting a side of his native South Florida that many would rather forget. The Cocaine Cowboys films chronicled the murderous legacy of Griselda Blanco and her ilk. Now, with Square Grouper, Billy Corben traces the legacy of marijuana smuggling. It’s a wholly different side of the drug trade, and Billy Corben’s efforts yield somewhat different results than his last two outings.

The first “chapter” deals with the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church. It was founded in Jamaica as a mansion of Rastafarianism, and was brought to American shores by Thomas Reilly. Reilly discovered it while in Jamaica and was immediately attracted to their practice of smoking cannabis as a holy sacrament. Reilly soon became a spokesman for the church and dubbed himself “Brother Louv.” Soon thereafter, The Ethiopian Zion Coptic church amassed a fortune worth hundreds of millions in the marijuana smuggling business.

The second chapter shows the rise and fall of The Black Tuna gang. The authorities portrayed them as mega successful drug barons so brazen that they would put hits on state officials if need be. The truth, according to Square Grouper, is that they were a marginally successful group of pot smugglers who became the focus of a media circus. The DEA, in order to avert having their funding pulled, dismantled the gang and built them up as the most dangerous drug cartel imaginable.

The third and final chapter shows the effect of pot smuggling on the economy of Everglade City, a town populated by generations of fishermen. Their livelihood threatened by government interference, the men of Everglade City soon started retrieving “square groupers” to supplement their income. This created a gold rush that afforded the residents a higher standard of living for a time. It all came crashing down when the feds caught wind of what was going on and moved in.

Square Grouper does not revel in murder stories and towering personalities like Griselda Blanco. The marijuana trade has never been characterized by violence or tales of high-living in the eyes of the public. To compensate for the lack of sensationalism, Corben frames these stories as parables about the little man being squashed by the government. The approach works to an extent, but the frantic pacing of Cocaine Cowboys is sorely missed. Square Grouper gets bogged down in the particulars of the legal process, especially during its middle stretch. While informative, it doesn’t exactly make for exciting viewing.

Thankfully, the first and third chapters are characterized by sly humor that makes the proceedings enjoyable. Thomas Reilly is essentially a white hippie who became enamored with the beliefs and practices of the Rastafari, though to look at him you’d think he was born into the fold. The good old boys of Everglade City are just that. They come across as simply working class guys who went from one line of work to another.

Square Grouper is not in the same class as Cocaine Cowboys. By comparison it moves at a snail’s pace, but it does emanate a charm all its own. True crime aficionados will appreciate this tour of a lesser known criminal history. If only Billy Corben would have been a little more concise with the editing and tightened up the pacing a bit. It seems as though the casual, laid-back demeanor of pot head culture somehow infected the film itself. For a stoner comedy that might have been a good thing, but a documentary needs more urgency.

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