Off the Minnesota Strip (1980)

A teenage runaway attempts to readjust to home and family life in Minnesota after returning home after years of working on the streets of New York City as a hooker and tries desperately to ... See full summary »

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writer:

David Chase

Stars:

Hal Holbrook, Michael Learned, Mare Winningham

Won 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hal Holbrook	...	Bud Johansen
Michael Learned	...	Hughlene Johansen
Mare Winningham	...	Micki Johansen
Heather McAdam	...	Danielle Johansen
Ronald Hunter	...	Dr. Fischel
Ben Marley	...	Dwayne Foti
James Murtaugh	...	Bruce McGrath
Richard Venture	...	Dr. Haas
Tom Troupe	...	Johnson
Leon Isaac Kennedy	...	Louis Knox Jr
Lenora May	...	Lisa Sherman
Sally Prager	...	Kathi Maresca
Kevyn Major Howard	...	Steve Gruenberg
Kirby Furlong	...	Tony Woytowicz
Jan Burrell	...	Aunt Vinny

Storyline

A teenage runaway attempts to readjust to home and family life in Minnesota after returning home after years of working on the streets of New York City as a hooker and tries desperately to regain her parents' understanding and love.

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Plot Keywords:

runaway | minnesota | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

Runaway. Hooker. Little Girl Lost. Who is Micki? The story of a teenage girl trying to come home again.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Difícil Regresso

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cherokee Productions, Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

User Reviews

Rough 70's Drama

There are a hand full of TV movies from the 1970's, that are truly outstanding. This is one of them. "Off the Minnesota Strip" steers clear of exploitation by starting this sordid tale of a teenage prostitute, at the point there she has just quit the business, and has returned home to her rural town. Many people see this movie as some kind of unofficial sequel to "Taxi Driver," this story following the prostitute Iris as she goes home to her family in the Mid West. But Mare Winningham is playing Micki Johansen, a girl hardened to life on the streets of New York, as well as some things from her past, (some kind of shocking) that have robbed her of her innocence.

This is a hard film, that pulls no punches. The mother growls at her daughter like an animal, while her father tries to make up for past mistakes, everybody smokes cigarettes, which is something you would NEVER see today, and we have the mother, the father smoking with their 15 year old daughter, who is also puffing away, and NOBODY acknowledges anything unusual about that. I love this film and it's certain 70's atmosphere. The parents are played so realistically with no sugar coating, that their behavior was more shocking than their daughters'actions. We even have Leon Isaac Kennedy as the angry pimp who hunts down the girl and tries to take her back to New York. This was directed by Lamant Johnson, so it has a professional, theater film quality, rather than like a TV movie. Johnson also directed "Lipstick" starring Margeaux Hemmingway, another seedy, sexually potent drama about rape. Finally, this movie does NOT have some predictable, happy ending, and that is what makes this special. Another teen drama from this time. "Born Innocent," also chose to end on a dark note, as did the brilliant "Death of Ritchie" with Ben Gazarra, which ended in horrible tragedy. The films that wrap everything up nicely, have no power, and are forgotten today. Definitely worth tracking down if you are a fan of any of the other movies I mentioned; this is up there with the best of them..