Miami Blues [1990]

EMM# : 16448
Added: 2017-01-07

Miami Blues (1990)
Real badge. Real gun. Fake cop.

Rating: 6.4

Movie Details:

Genre: Comedy (Crime| Drama| Thriller)

Length: 1 h 37 min - 97 min

Video: 1920x1040 (23.976 Fps - 2 039 Kbps)

Studio:

Location:

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Plot
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When Fred Frenger gets out of prison, he decides to start over in Miami, Florida, where he starts a violent one-man crime wave. He soon meets up with amiable college student/prostitute Susie Waggoner. Opposing Frenger is Sgt Hoke Moseley, a cop who is getting a bit old for the job, especially since the job of cop in 1980's Miami is getting crazier all the time. Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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Infofreak from Perth, Australia
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'Miami Blues' fans nod at each knowingly like they share a secret. For some reason this super cool movie isn't all that well known by most movie buffs, but those that appreciate it see it for the highly original and quirky piece of work that it is. Writer/director George Armitage served his apprenticeship with exploitation king Roger Corman in the early 70s, as did Jonathan Demme who co-produced. If you like Demme's mid-period movies like 'Something Wild' and 'Married To The Mob' you'll love 'Miami Blues'. Armitage even uses Demme's mascot Charles Napier, the craggy faced character actor beloved by Russ Meyer nuts. The movie is based on a book by Charles Willeford which features his regular protagonist Hoke Mosely. Quentin Tarantino is a major Willeford fan, and much of 'Miami Blues' prefigures Tarantino's fresh mix of crime and comedy. Mosely is played by Fred Ward who gives one of his very best performances. Alec Baldwin also lucks out as Junior. You'll rarely see either actor as good as this anywhere else. Both of them are just brilliant in this movie, as is Jennifer Jason Leigh. The three of them together are just a joy to watch. Add to that small supporting roles by Napier, Nora Dunn ('Three Kings') and Shirley Stoler ('The Honeymoon Killers') and it's a film buffs dream. You even get a totally pointless cameo by cult favourite Martine Beswick! I don't know why she's even in the movie, but it's alright by me! I always enjoy watching 'Miami Blues' every time I pull it out of my collection. Lots of old favourites lose their appeal as the years go by, not so this one, which just gets better and better to me. Highly recommended fun!

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(mattymatt30) from Saskatchewan
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"Miami Blues' is a pretty unusual film about a charming psychopath played by Alec Baldwin(in what could be his best role yet), who beats up an outsider detective(Fred Ward),steals his badge and dentures, and shacks up with a sweet simpleton hooker(Jennifer Jason Leigh). If this sounds a little odd to you, it is, but a GOOD odd. This film is something really different, and doesn't seem to be that well known by the movie watching public. All the leads are really great, and Baldwin's character of Frederick Frenger is really interesting. He's not pure evil, even though he does kill someone for no apparent reason. It's unclear what motivates him, because he wants to be admired as a hero cop with his 'borrowed' badge, but he is also a thief that has no problem robbing people after he helps them.

This film is a hidden gem. See this movie for Alec Baldwin and the crazy character he plays, because it's a role you won't soon forget!

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ccthemovieman-1 from United States
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This has a mean edge to it which usually doesn't excite me, but I really like this movie, because the meanness is tempered with comedy. It's pure entertainment, one of the fastest-moving 97 minutes you will find, thanks to a good combination of violence and humor.

The three main characters in here are all low-life scumbags but interesting and definitely fun to watch. Alec Baldwin plays a psycho thug and exhibits a good flair for comedy, which he has pursed several times in movies after this one. He's also a legitimately tough guy, or at least sounds like one. Jennifer Jason Leigh, perhaps the all-time female sleazoid in movies, is a lame-brained prostitute. I was very impressed with her southern accent.

Fred Ward is a strange cop in pursuit, one who has problems with his false teeth! Hey, this IS kind of an odd crime movie.

Despite the above, the violence in here can get rough with a few unpredictable happenings that will get your attention. There's also a good soundtrack, capped off at the end by Norman Greenbaum's classic "Spirit In The Sky."

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I M D Man! from LA Cali
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This is one of those movies that perhaps not a lot of people saw, but for me, it's one of those 'obscure classics'. A little quirky at times, but it just looked like a fun movie to act in, and definitely a fun movie to watch. The cast does a great job, especially Alec Baldwin and Fred Ward. They just really seemed to be enjoy their characters. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives her usual solid performance in yet another offbeat role. Alec Baldwin always seems to give some 'classic scene' deliveries (Glengarry Glen Ross, Malice, The Edge, etc.), and once again here in Miami Blues, he scores some big ones. On the bed, counting the stolen money, doing Al 'Scarface' Pacino. Rhyming while finding the 'very big' gun. The entire dinner scene with Ward's Moseley. Stopping the store burglar with a jar of spaghetti sauce. His 'raid' of the betting room ('remain silent'). -Etc. etc. These are just a few examples of some of his classic scenes or lines. They're usually hysterical!!

Anyway, there is some violence, some 'dark' comedy (e.g. Ravindra!), etc., but overall, I think this movie was very entertaining and a nice offbeat surprise with some great performances and lines. Chalk it up under one of my 'Top Ten Favorites That Not Everybody Saw'.

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goomba8 from St. Louis
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and entertaining movie, though, in NO WAY do I consider this a comedy.

Excellent performances by Baldwin and Ward, but especially Jennifer Jason Leigh. If this had been recognized as a regular 'REAL' motion picture, she might have been nominated for an Oscar. Absolutely one of her best performances.

Kudos all around.

But this ain't no comedy.

And, on a side note, I believe Shirley Stoler was at one time an actress known as Shirley Kirkpatrick.

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inframan from the lower depths
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This is one of those buried treasures of filmdom (like Prime Cut) that gets swept aside because it's a "genre" movie. But everything about is first-rate, beginning with the performances of the 3 main leads: Baldwin, Leigh, Ward. None has ever been better, each carves a unique unforgettable performance. The direction by Armitage (whose Grosse Pointe Blank is another great treasure) is outstanding. This movie MOVES, it zips & flips & turns on a dime, it's got the momentum that only really great movies have. The writing is terrific, I read the book before seeing the film & I recommend the book to anyone, it's great, Willeford was another great unsung.This movie has loads of little details that reveal themselves in viewing after viewing & then stay with you...forever! How about the fact that Baldwin's character appropriates the billfold & consequently the identity of a fellow airline passenger & goes around for much of the movie as Herman Gottlieb, Herman Gottlieb??!! Remember him? The famed opera impresario? No? Aw forget it...

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bmacv from Western New York
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Alec Baldwin sports a great haircut in Miami Blues and knows it. He struts and swaggers through the movie like the cock of the walk, having a high old time and giving us one, too. It's an exhilarating, watch-this performance that can't help but call attention to itself but luckily happens to fit the character.

The character isn't so much fun. He's a happy-go-lucky psycho just sprung from prison and landed in Miami, where he brushes off a Hare Krishna acolyte in the airport by breaking his finger (the poor guy dies of shock). At his hotel he orders up a hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh); they hit it off and pair up, mainly because `Princess Not-So-Bright' has trouble with independent thought. Then Baldwin is off and running through Dade and Broward Counties, stealing wallets and identities, staging impromptu holdups, and running giddily amok.

Tired old cop Fred Ward picks up his scent, and even shares a meal of many brews and Leigh's pork chops with the couple. But Baldwin turns the tables and ambushes Ward in his ratty old residential hotel, putting him in the hospital. The upside is that now Baldwin's got a new identity – Ward's – with a gun and a badge to prove it. Flamboyant and reckless, he continues his felonious spree like an overgrown kid playing cops and robbers. But he can't keep it up forever, not even in the anything-goes milieu of South Beach....

Miami Blues is drawn from a crime novel by Charles Willeford, who wrote (he died before the picture was adapted) in the playful, inventive Elmore Leonard vein. There's not much plot, just enough to hold together the characters, which it's about (and the movie's full of quirky characters, memorably including Shirley Stoller). But, though Ward gets top billing and Leigh flashes her credentials as a graduate of the Meryl Streep Academy of Accents, it's Baldwin's movie. If you're fond of ham, you're in for a feast.

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CPDEXTRADT (CPDEXTRADT@NETSCAPE.NET) from CHICAGO IL
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This is a great characterization of the novel detective HOKE MOSELEY. False teeth, blind "eye on the street", bust out existence and all. Fred Ward played it to the hilt. J J Leigh is a very underrated talent and played the "PRINCESS-NOT-SO-BRIGHT" role to the bone. Alec Baldwin is great as the pyscopathic, wanna be robin hood stickup man.. This movie is a small movie, but real entertainment..

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Mara from Argentina
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I have to agree that this is a very underrated movie. Under the crazy plot, the funny, brutal scenes, there is a sadness underlying it that make it more than the usual thriller. It is witty, deep in their depiction of the characters, specially the ill-fated relationship between the incorrigible, still lovable (damn, he can't help but do what he does) Junior Frenger (Alec Baldwin) and the still more lovable, naive, loving Susie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). There are some subtle moments when George Armitage (who brilliantly adapted the screenplay from the Charles Willeford novel) reaches a climax and then suddenly interrupts it, like when Susie is in awe at the little house she's always dreamed of having, and suddenly Junior claps his hands to bring her back to reality. There are many minor details that those who have read the book will find enjoyable too. Even the graffiti on the wall when Junior mugs some drug dealers with a squirt gun ("please let me get what I want this time") is extremely appropriate, although Junior admittedly doesn't know what he wants. I have watched this movie many times and always find something new and rewarding. Surely a keeper.

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TheMarquisDeSuave from Worcester, MA
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"Miami Blues" is an extremely entertaining and quirky crime flick. Its rather schizophrenic, as the film often seems unable to decide if its a comedy or serious thriller, but that hardly matters when the result is so enjoyable. Maybe its confused style is what kept it from being a bigger success than it was, because its really an unclassifiable film that'd be difficult to market. Its an unique crime flick thats lightning quickly paced. If you're a fan of either Michael Mann or Quentin Tarantino, you'll be especially amused by this unfortunately overlooked little flick. This is definitely a film that deserves a bigger cult following that its obtained. Hopefully, someday it will resurface and get the attention it deserves. This is the kind of film which no one seems to have heard about, but when I show it to someone, they become an instant fan.

The direction and screenplay by George Armitage is very accomplished. Armitage has had a fascinating career, writing films for Roger Corman in the 70s, creating this unique flick in the early 90s and than attempting to bid for success again with "Grosse Point Blank" in 1997, and also writing the script for the late night expose "The Late Shift". However, he'd be a hero in my opinion even if he didn't make another film than this.

The acting is very good as well. Alec Baldwin is particularly enjoyable to watch - his character is completely crazy and over-the-top. Its probably his best portrayal ever. Jennifer Jason Leigh is a bit understated but sympathetic as the former prostitute who runs away with Baldwin. Rounding off this is Fred Ward as a police sergeant who chases Baldwin across the country. His character is a bit underused and should have been in the film more, hes a really interesting individual. "Miami Blues" is an unfortunately overlooked film that hopefully will get the attention it deserves someday. (9/10)

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Certifications:
Argentina:16 / Australia:M / Canada:18A / Finland:K-16 / France:Tous publics / Germany:16 (re-rating) / Iceland:16 / Ireland:15 / Philippines:R-18 / Portugal:M/16 / South Korea:18 / UK:18 / UK:15 (DVD rating) / USA:R (certificate #29794) / West Germany:18