Premise
The documentary starts out as a mock guide to how to be a successful pusher, explains how drug dealers, smugglers, kingpins and drug lords make money and the risks involved, with the ultimate aim of setting the stage for the real purpose for the film. It then seriously examines what perpetuates the War on Drugs and criticizes it, while providing suggestions and opinions from those trying to deal with the problem of drugs from outside of the institutionalized and incentivized war.Interviews
* Radley Balko * Bobby Carlton * Cheye Calvo * Barry Cooper (lecturer), Barry Cooper * Keith Kruskall * Neill Franklin * Joe Gilbride * Judge Jim Gray (jurist), James P. Gray * Woody Harrelson * John E. Harriel Jr. * Arianna Huffington * Curtis "50 Cent" James Jackson III * Gil Kerlikowske * Raymond Madden * Yolanda Madden * Marshall "Eminem" Bruce Mathers III * Alexandra Natapoff * Brian O'Dea * Patrick Reynalds * "Freeway" Rick Ross * Susan Sarandon * Russell Simmons * David Simon * Eric Sterling * Skipp Townsend * Howard Wooldridge * "Mr. X" * "Pepe"Reception
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 77% of 39 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.6/10. Metacritic rated it 69/100 based on 16 reviews. John Anderson of ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' wrote, "By being both glib and preachy, this highly stylized pic ends up being a tiresome buzzkill". John DeFore of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote, "The entertaining doc is more serious than it seems but has little new to say." Nicolas Rapold of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "there's a lot to learn" from the film, but it overwhelms viewers with unnecessary flash and "relentless voice-over". Gary Goldstein of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that it "begins as a slick, tongue-in-cheek guide to successful dope dealing" but "masterfully evolves into something far more vital, cogent and impressive." Ernest Hard of ''The Village Voice'' wrote, "It's a smart, funny, tough-minded film crammed with data and personal anecdotes" that help to illuminate the costs of the drug war. Linda Holmes (writer), Linda Holmes of NPR wrote, "Whether or not you agree with its underlying critique of existing drug policy, ''How To Make Money Selling Drugs'' is an ambitious, creative attempt to talk in a single film about everything from the disparate treatment of black and white dealers to the influence of asset forfeiture on law-enforcement strategies to the devastation of Mexico's drug war." Chris Nashawaty of ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote, "While it won't win any Oscars, Matthew Cooke's new documentary ''How To Make Money Selling Drugs'' may take the prize for being the shallowest and most glib film of the year." The production won the audience prize for best American independent film at the 2013 Champs-Élysées Film Festival.References
External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:How to Make Money Selling Drugs 2012 films 2012 documentary films American documentary films Documentary films about the illegal drug trade Documentary films about crime in the United States 2010s English-language films 2010s American films