Movie Type: Post-Noir (Modern Noir), Police Detective Film
Themes: Crime Sprees, Prostitutes
Main Cast: Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nora Dunn, Charles Napier
Release Year: 1990
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Based on the late Charles Willeford's series of hard-boiled crime novels featuring Miami cop Hoke Moseley, the Jonathan Demme-produced Miami Blues opens with the prison release of Frederick Frenger Jr. (Alec Baldwin), a deranged killer who has barely de-boarded his plane before he's killed a Hare Krishna in the airport. Checking into his hotel, Frenger meets up with Susie Waggoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young prostitute with dreams of domestic life, and the two quickly become romantically involved. Meanwhile, the Hare Krishna murder case is given to Moseley (Fred Ward), a grizzled vet who vows to hunt down Frenger, but may be getting too long in the tooth for the demands of his job. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
In the late 1980s, director Jonathan Demme achieved critical acclaim with Something Wild (1986) and Married to the Mob (1988), a pair of films remarkable for their offbeat cinematic style, characterized by a brightly lit, candy-coated look that masked an undertone of homicidal menace. Following those two projects, Demme produced Miami Blues (1990) for director George Armitage, a compatriot from Demme's days of working for no-budget genre maestro Roger Corman. The odd mixture of bubbly cheer and simmering, sexual violence was reproduced less adroitly in Miami Blues than in Demme's directorial efforts, but the film was an artistic success despite its unevenness. Most notable were stellar performances from the trio of leads, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Fred Ward as the "hero," Sergeant Hoke Moseley. Miami Blues was based on the novel of the same name by crime fiction writer Charles Willeford, part of an ongoing series featuring Moseley. Following Miami Blues, Demme returned to directing, and his work became more dark and somber with such films as The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), and Beloved (1998). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Jose Perez - Pablo; Paul Gleason - Sgt. Frank Lackley; Obba Babatunde - Blink Willie; Martine Beswicke - Noira; Caitlin Brown - Purse Snatch Victim; Patrick Cherry - Convenience Store Robber; Nancy Duerr - Newswoman; Steve Geng - Big Fish Robber; Joe Hess - Pedro; Matt Ingersoll - Mourning Hare Krishna; Gary Klar - Head Bookie; Bobo Lewis - Edna Damrosch; Carmen Lopez - Woman in Sports Car; Shirley Stoler - Edie Wulgemuth; Ron Bozman - Senor Lerner; Gary Goetzman - Hotel Desk Manager; Buddy Joe Hooker - Shorty; Edward Saxon - Krishna Ravindra; Kenneth Utt - Ram Ba; Roy Datz - Julio; Tony Tracy - Musclehead; Howard Feuer; Georgie Cranford - Little Boy; Herb Goldstein - Eddie Cohen
Credit
William Horberg - Associate Producer, Howard Feuer - Casting, Ron Bozman - Co-producer, Jonathan Demme - Co-producer, Gary Goetzman - Co-producer, Kenneth Utt - Co-producer, Eugenie Bafaloukos - Costume Designer, George Armitage - Director, Craig McKay - Editor, Fred Ward - Executive Producer, Edward Saxon - Executive Producer, Gary Chang - Composer (Music Score), Carl Fullerton - Makeup, Don Reddy - Camera Operator, Maher Ahmad - Production Designer, Tak Fujimoto - Cinematographer, Don Ivey - Set Designer, Joe Hess - Stunts, Buddy Joe Hooker - Stunts, Gary McLarty - Stunts, Chick Bernhardt - Stunts, George Armitage - Screenwriter, William McConnell - First Assistant Camera, Charles Willeford - Book Author
Frederick Frenger (Baldwin), a conman and killer recently released from prison, starts a new life in Miami. He is not a changed man. Before leaving the airport, he steals luggage and kills a Hare Krishna. Fred check into a hotel and meets Susie Waggoner (Jason Leigh), a prostitute and student at the local community college. They become romantically involved, with Susie harboring fantasies of domestic life. Investigation of the Krishna murder leads police to Frenger, and Sgt. Hoke Moseley (Ward) visits the couple. Moseley is not overly concerned with the case and believes the death to have been an accident, but asks Fred to come to the police station for a line-up. Fred, not wanting to return for prison, goes to Moseley's hotel that night, assults him, and steals his gun and badge. He begins using the badge and getting in to trouble, demanding bribes and breaking up robberies, only to keep the loot for himself.
