Product Description

Brace yourself'this intoxicating cocktail with rum and cyanide (Time) is at once brutal, funny, unpredictable and a bit unhinged (Newsweek)! Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in this offbeat black comedy about a murdering thief, his simple-minded wife and the denture-wearing cop closing in on his trail. Veteran criminal Junior Frenger (Baldwin) has moved to Miami to get a fresh start at robbing a whole new set of people. But when his streetwalker-gone-straight wife (Leigh) begins to suspect his criminal behavior, and an obsessed cop (Ward) begins to close in, Junior will need a lot more than luck and a bogus badge to escape a crossfire hotter than the barrel of a smoking gun!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18376 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-12-03
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.com
Alec Baldwin should have had an Oscar nomination for his cunning performance as Frederick J. Frenger Jr., the sleek sociopath and master of quicksilver improvisation who sets the pace for this deceptively breezy crime comedy. Junior's a genius in his fashion, yet not especially bright. In moments of repose, his mouth has a way of falling open slightly, like that of an animal panting in the shade, or Marilyn Monroe thinking. Miami Blues, written and directed by George Armitage, from the novel by Charles Willeford, divides its attention among Junior and two other characters who, in their respective ways, are as eccentric as he: Susie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a room-service hooker enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College who dreams of acquiring middle-class stability (say, a Burger King franchise); and Hoke Moseley (Fred Ward), a Miami P.D. detective with false choppers who gets on Junior’s trail. Junior and Susie set up housekeeping in Coral Gables, and when Hoke catches up to his quarry, he sits down in the couple's newly rented kitchen and joins them in a meal of pork chops and beer. At which point--well, see for yourselves.

Jonathan Demme coproduced Miami Blues, and the movie operates as a companion piece to Demme's black-comedy meditation on the elusiveness of contentment in these United States, Something Wild ('86). The three principal actors are all terrific, but it's through Susie--and by all means Jennifer Jason Leigh's complex portrait of this down-to-earth creature--that Miami Blues finally touches a deep, abiding sadness, and the bruised tenaciousness of the American Dream. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

A Quirky, Satisfying Unknown Gem
This movie managed to stay under almost everyone's radar screen, and this is truly a shame. This is a quirky, unorthodox, and unpredictable film with potent acting and a very intriguing story. It's a compelling and intelligent film that is very funny and yet quite sad. The movie came and went before Alec Baldwin emerged as a (sometimes) legitimate star. And he's really at his best, acting opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh, who delivers one of her trademark credible and powerful performances. Alec Baldwin portrays an ex-con who has just been released from a prison in Florida, and it doesn't take long before he's returning to his criminal ways. Early in the film Alec intentionally breaks the thumb of a Harry Krishna follower at the airport, who proceeds to die as a result of the trama. At this point, a detective (aptly and humorously portrayed by Fred Ward) begins investigating and pursuing Baldwin. Ward doesn't have enough evidence to arrest Baldwin, but he is pretty certain he's got the right man. An interesting and funny cat-and-mouse game follows. Baldwin makes his living by stealing from other criminals, mostly by robbing muggers just after they have robbed someone. Midway through the film Baldwin obtains a detective's badge and proceeds to impersonate a police officer, which allows him to more easily apply his trade and opens the way for several hysterical scenes. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays a prostitute who, after a tryst with Baldwin, ends up falling in love and living with him. The dynamic between these two characters occupies a central role in this film, and it is both convincing and interesting. As the film progresses, it becomes obvious that Baldwin is battling himself and facing large changes and challenges within himself. While continuing to impersonate a police officer while robbing people, it becomes obvious that he begins to internalize the persona and seems to think of himself as a protector of others. While this film is frequently violent, comic and funny, it is tinged with a very serious edge that meanders into areas of human longing, sadness and loss. This film unfolds slowly, but is compelling and funny every step of the way. Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance is poignant and provides emotional ballast, but Baldwin's performance borders on being gut-wrenchingly good. The heaviness and self-consciousness that often accompany his later performances are nowhere to be found. This film is daring, orginal and intelligent...and a lot of fun along with way. Hopefully the new DVD edition will allow it to surface on radar screen's everywhere.

Great underrated film from a great underrated book.
This is one of those buried treasures of filmdom (like Prime Cut) that gets swept aside because it's a "genre" movie. But everything about is first-rate, beginning with the performances of the 3 main leads: Baldwin, Leigh, Ward. None has ever been better, each carves a unique unforgettable performance. The direction by Armitage (whose Grosse Pointe Blank is another great treasure) is outstanding. This movie MOVES, it zips & flips & turns on a dime, it's got the momentum that only really great movies have. The writing is terrific, I read the book before seeing the film & I recommend the book to anyone, it's great, Willeford was another great unsung.This movie has loads of little details that reveal themselves in viewing after viewing & then stay with you...forever! How about the fact that Baldwin's character appropriates the billfold & consequently the identity of a fellow airline passenger & goes around for much of the movie as Herman Gottlieb, Herman Gottlieb??!! Remember him? The famed opera impresario? No? Aw forget it...

A Greater VICE....
Alec Baldwin shines as "Junior" in this offbeat, quirky, action/crime/comedy adventure. That sounds like an odd combination, and it is just that unique combination that really makes this film work. ............... The fun begins when "Junior", a career criminal, is on the loose in Miami, hence the title. After stepping off a plane, and breaking the finger of a Hare Krishna at the airport who later dies of shock, Sgt. Hoke Mosley (Fred Ward) is on the case. .................. Meanwhile, Junior is going about his business of robbing, assaulting, and assuming the identity of "Herman Gotlieb". That is funny all by itself, but that's the wallet lifted, so that's who Junior is. He is living in a cheap hotel where the bellboy is a pimp. So, when Junior wants a lady for "entertainment" he gets a roomservice prostitute, enter Jennifer Jason Leigh as "Susie", a not too bright, but sweet girl who is "working" the hotel. Once she is sent to Juniors room, they remain together as a couple. Blissfully ignorant, Susie naively trusts Junior, and plays the role of dutiful wife, oblivious to his frighteningly deviate behavior. Everyone is happy, until.......... ................ Trouble starts for Junior as Sgt. Hoke Mosley, a denture toting vice veteran who lives up to his hokey name, closes in. Particularly amusing is a shared dinner at Junior and Susies place, where Mosley lets Junior know, he's a suspect for the airport Hare Krishna death incident. Fred Ward is very amusing in this role, and repugnant as well. Looking at him makes you think you can smell him right through the screen. He drinks up all the beer, eats all the food, and exits after asking Junior if he'd mind taking a look at a line-up, and standing in it too. Junior knows it's time to make a serious move, or it's back to jail. ................ Although George Armitage is the director of this film, the entire cinematography, mood. music, quirky camera angles, and cast spells Jonathan Demme all the way. He is the credited producer of this film, but I imagine he certainly had alot to do with the directing and casting as well. You can see all Demme favorites here in small cameo roles, as in his previous "Married To The Mob", and "Something Wild" (see my reviews). Charles Napier, a welcome Demme mainstay, is in a peripheral role here as a collegue of Wards' Mosley, but he's just one of many familiar faces that show up unexpectedly throughout the film. ................ "Miami Blues" is a unique blend of comedy, and action crime thriller that will get your attention with it's visual flash, and hold your interest with its well paced plot and odd characters. It's a forgotten sleeper that should not be missed.