Miami Blues (1990)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

George Armitage

Writers (WGA):

Charles Willeford (novel)
George Armitage (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 April 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Real badge. Real gun. Fake cop.

Plot:

When Fred Frenger gets out of prison, he decides to start over in Miami, Florida, where he starts a violent one-man crime wave...

Plot Keywords:

Miami Florida | Breasts | Nipples | Reference To A White Picket Fence | Attraction

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Alec Baldwin	...	Frederick J. Frenger Jr.
Cecilia Pérez-Cervera	...	Stewardess
Georgie Cranford	...	Little Boy at Miami Airprt
Edward Saxon	...	Krishna Ravindra at Miami Airport
José Pérez	...	Pablo
Obba Babatundé	...	Blink Willie, Informant
Fred Ward	...	Sgt. Hoke Moseley
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Susie Waggoner
Charles Napier	...	Sgt. Bill Henderson
Matt Ingersoll	...	Mourning Hare Krishna
Jack G. Spirtos	...	Pickpocket Victim
Raphael Rey Gomez	...	Pickpocket
Tony Paris	...	Pickpocket's Accomplice
Wendy Thorlakson	...	Toy Store Cashier
William Taylor Anderson Jr.	...	Crack Dealer

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:16 (re-rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | UK:15 (DVD rating) | Ireland:15 | France:U | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Company:

Tristes Tropiques

Trivia:

Suzanne Vega was up for the role of Susie Waggoner. She dropped out to make her third album "Days of Open Hand".

Quotes:

Edna Damrosch: I nursed my husband for three years before he died. But you're not gonna die.
[Hands Junior a glass of gin]
Edna Damrosch: Here, drink this.
Susie Waggoner: It's gin, Junior.
Edna Damrosch: Drink it! Now you move and you're a blind man.
[Begins sewing up Junior's eyebrow]
Edna Damrosch: Scissors!
Susie Waggoner: [Feeling sick] You're doing real good, Junior. I think I'm gonna lie down a little bit.
Edna Damrosch: [after she finishes off] There you go!
Frederick J. Frenger Jr.: Your husband must've been glad to die...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

SPIRIT IN THE SKY

Extremely Entertaining Crime-Comedy

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."