Miami Blues
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Miami Blues
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, RoviReview
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, RoviCast
- Alec Baldwin - Frederick J. "Junior" Frenger
- Fred Ward - Sgt. Hoke Moseley
- Jennifer Jason Leigh - Susie "Pepper" Waggoner
- Nora Dunn - Ellita Sanchez
- Charles Napier - Sgt. Bill Henderson
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| Miami Beach Cops (1993 Film), Miami (1998 Film) | |
| Miami Cops (1989 Film), Miami Expose (1956 Film) |
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Miami Blues
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Miami Blues
| Miami Blues | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | George Armitage |
| Produced by | Fred Ward Ron Bozman Kenneth Utt Jonathan Demme |
| Written by | George Armitage |
| Starring | Alec Baldwin Fred Ward Jennifer Jason Leigh |
| Music by | Gary Chang |
| Editing by | Craig McKay |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 20, 1990 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11 million |
| Box office | $9,888,167 |
Miami Blues is a 1990 action-crime-thriller-film based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. It stars Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by George Armitage. Ward was also the executive producer.
Plot
Frederick Frenger, Jr. (who asks to be called "Junior"), a violent psychopath recently released from a California prison, starts a new life in Miami. Before leaving the airport, he steals luggage and kills a Hare Krishna after breaking his finger.
Junior checks into a hotel and hooks up with Susie Waggoner, a naive prostitute who is a student at a community college. They become romantically involved and take a house together, with Susie blissfully unaware of Junior's criminal activities and harboring fantasies of living happily ever after.
An investigation of the Hare Krishna murder leads grizzled cop Sgt. Hoke Moseley to come knocking on their door. Moseley shares a home-cooked dinner with the couple, upon Susie's suggestion, and plays it cool while seemingly indicating to Junior that he's on to him. He overtly suspects Junior has been in prison and wants him to come to the police station for a lineup. Being a proactive criminal, Junior goes to Moseley's home that night, assaults him, and steals his gun and badge.
Junior begins using the badge, demanding bribes as rewards after breaking up robberies, only to keep the loot for himself. He's highly enjoying his new role as criminal with a badge and the perks it holds for him.
Susie happily cooks for him. While at a grocery store, Junior witnesses an armed robbery and decides to break it up. He lectures the gunman about avoiding a life of crime, but the gunman runs a truck over him. Junior complains to Susie that the "straight life" has made him too soft.
Moseley tracks down the couple through a utility account opened up in Susie's name. He pretends to run into her at the grocery store, where they swap recipes. After she lies that she has left Junior, Moseley tells her that Junior's a murderer and that he and the police are looking for him.
Back home, to test whether he will lie to her, Susie deliberately ruins a pie by adding too much vinegar to it. To her disappointment, Frenger compliments the dessert and eats it with gusto.
The next day, Junior asks Susie to drive him around town on errands. Their first stop is a pawn shop, which he robs. In the course of the robbery, the pawnbroker chops off several of Frenger's fingers before being killed by him.
Badly injured, he limps to the car, but Susie drives away upon realizing what he's done. Moseley pursues him to the house, where he shoots and kills Junior. Junior, being ironic with his last words, tells Moseley, "Susie's gonna get you, Sarge." Susie then arrives and Moseley asks why she stayed with him for so long. She explains that he ate everything she ever cooked and never hit her.
Cast
- Alec Baldwin as Frederick J. Frenger Jr.
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Susie Waggoner
- Fred Ward as Sgt. Hoke Moseley
- Charles Napier as Sgt. Bill Henderson
- Nora Dunn as Ellita Sanchez
- Obba Babatundé as Blink Willie
- Jose Perez as Pablo
- Paul Gleason as Sgt. Frank Lackley
External links
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