Poll Position Part 1: Fargo (1996)

We got ourselves a three way tie here; Fargo, Zodiac and Serpico. Interestingly enough, this is the first time we've had a three way tie. So it should be a new experience watching a whole weeks worth of movies without any choices. Today I kicked it off with "Fargo" for the reason that Steve Buscemi is in this and the Coen brothers directed this. Same guys that directed "No Country For Old Man" and "The Big Lebowski". Two great movies by all accounts. But before I get too off topic let me share you the fun I had with "Fargo".



A North Dakota car salesman, Jerry Lundegaard is having some money troubles. To counteract this trouble, he hires two goons by the names of Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife. Why on Earth would a nice old North Dakota man do this? Well he plans that his father-in-law would put up the money for the ransom and Jerry would take half of that. But the plan goes awry when the goons resort to a triple homicide and now the cops are hot on the trail and the father-in-law is being intrusive.

Gaear and Carl thought they were getting themselves some easy money.

Am I the only one that finds the Mid-Western accent really quirky and sort of goofy. Sort of like the East coasters with a twist. And by golly it sure does stick out, yeah? It's almost infectious, getting into my head. The actual script itself is wonderful, from Carl's rage outburst to the quick interactions with all the different characters. I guess the accent made it more interesting to listen to.

But that isn't really where the comedy stops, the entire movie has a quirky tone to it. And most of it was with Buscemi's character. Nothing really seems to go Carl's way and well jeez it's hard enough trying to survive in this world with all this heat on you. And the one thing I always ask from Buscemi is him to freak out like a maniac. And guess what, he does that. It's a bit too short but eyes bulge out and spit does fly.

You can see it in Jerry's eyes, the man is a low life.

Though sadly, as good as the actual story of the movie is, what bugged me was the plot. At times it seems like nothing is really happening besides a bunch of overly friendly townies talking about the weather and such. There is no real excitement that happens. The crime takes place, it doesn't go as plan, some investigation goes around and it gets solved. No real thrills.

Margie is a great cop, you see?

Bringing it back to what I enjoyed was Officer Marge Gunderson (Frances McDdormand). She was a hoot and a-something. She was like a hound dog to a scent when it came to this case. She knew all the right decisions whenever she stumbled on a clue. He also possessed this certain charm that no other character had. I also though Jerry was well played. He was the sad and desperate sales man that'll do anything for a buck. It's hard watching this man struggle through life, but he deserves it for he is a low life. I do like his few scenes where he goes nuts with all the built up frustration of nothing going his way.

While I wouldn't go out and say this movie is amazing, I did enjoy it enough. It was the quirkiness and the characters that I really enjoyed. You really get that small town vibe from everybody with their 'how are ya?' and their 'yeahs' that they aren't bad people. But with not a lot of suspense and tension, there isn't much emotion to keep me glued onto the screen. Overall, I still enjoyed it, yeah.