Miami Blues (1990)

An ex-con's first act of freedom is moving to Miami where he restarts his old criminal ways with even more potency.

Director:

George Armitage

Writers:

Charles Willeford (novel), George Armitage (screenplay)

Stars:

Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | prostitute | girl stripped down to panties | female frontal nudity | sex scene | 

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Taglines:

Real badge. Real gun. Fake cop.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gene Hackman at one point was interested in playing Hoke Moseley while Fred Ward initially wanted to portray Frederick J. Frenger Jr.

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Goofs

Staff members and camera equipment visible in Frenger's glasses right before "muscle heads" raid and throughout it.

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Quotes

Ellita Sanchez: Is she really Princess Not-so-bright or is she pretending?

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Connections

References Gandhi (1982)

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Soundtracks

Guru Sitar
(uncredited)
Music by Ole Georg (as Henrik Nielsen)
Ole Georg Music

User Reviews

Some Fine Acting

A charming thief named Junior (Alec Baldwin) embarks on a romance with a hooker named Susie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young, naive Southern gal, in this offbeat character study by director George Armitage. Junior steals from thieves who are in the process of stealing from others. It's a plot contrivance that strains credibility, since Junior always happens to be at the right place at the right time.

The script's story is weak for other reasons as well. We never learn what motivates Junior. Why does he find it necessary to rob from robbers? With a runtime of just 97 minutes the film could have filled us in a little on some of Junior's back-story. Further, toward the film's end, there is ample opportunity for the cops to zero in on Junior. But they don't. And that makes the film not very true to life. I also question why the lead detective, a rather hapless guy named Hoke Moseley (Fred Ward) feels compelled to have dinner and engage in social chitchat with Susie and Junior.

A couple of plot sequences were hard for me to watch because of the graphic violence. But in general, this film is fairly tame and low-key. Production design is fine, and color cinematography is competent. I liked the music, which included "Spirit In The Sky".

Despite a weak script, "Miami Blues" is worth watching once, mostly for the really fine performances of Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miami Blues

Filming Locations:

Kendall, Florida, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,002,997, 22 April 1990

Gross USA:

$9,888,167

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,888,167

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tristes Tropiques

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1