Miami Blues is a 1990 American neo-noir black comedy crime drama film directed by George Armitage , based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford . It stars Alec Baldwin , Fred Ward (who also served as an executive producer) and Jennifer Jason Leigh .
45-450: George Brendan Armitage (born March 2, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed the films Miami Blues (1990) and Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). He worked frequently with Roger Corman . Armitage was born in Hartford, Connecticut . His mother was a writer who wanted to get into movies, so they moved to Beverly Hills in 1956, when Armitage was 13. "What
90-475: A TV movie but neither went beyond script stage. Armitage met Gene and Roger Corman at Fox while they were making The St Valentine's Day Massacre : The commissary was a place called the "Gold Room" where the producers would go. They were all sort of mothballed, but they still had energy enough to snob the television people, who were making High Noon , Lost in Space , Batman . The movie producers would sit on
135-488: A big gun". An investigation of the Hare Krishna murder leads grizzled policeman 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. In response, Junior goes to Moseley's home
180-433: A big gun". An investigation of the Hare Krishna murder leads grizzled policeman 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. In response, Junior goes to Moseley's home
225-421: A culture shock", he reflected later. "I’m still reeling. In Connecticut there wasn’t a hot rod in sight. Out here it was people racing up and down the street, building their own cars—it was teenage paradise, the kids were running everything." He attended UCLA where he majored in economics and political science. While waiting for his real estate license to come through, Armitage entered the film industry in 1965 via
270-436: A house together, with Susie blissfully unaware of Junior's criminal activities and harboring fantasies of living happily ever after. Later, while Susie is taking a bath and writing a haiku , Junior decides to break into a nearby apartment. He steals an IMI Desert Eagle handgun, a coin collection and some pork chops. As he is doing this, he speaks aloud a haiku of his own: "Breaking entering. The dark and lonely places. Finding
315-436: A house together, with Susie blissfully unaware of Junior's criminal activities and harboring fantasies of living happily ever after. Later, while Susie is taking a bath and writing a haiku , Junior decides to break into a nearby apartment. He steals an IMI Desert Eagle handgun, a coin collection and some pork chops. As he is doing this, he speaks aloud a haiku of his own: "Breaking entering. The dark and lonely places. Finding
360-542: 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 is 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
405-494: 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 is 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
450-420: A number of wonderful things for Tom Hanks's company, though this was his first film—were amazingly helpful. Armitage says the script omitted a key plot point in the novel, that the Hare Krishna killed by Fred was Susie's brother. "It took 10 or 15 pages to explain that relationship, and it bothered me—that kind of serendipity. And we were just sitting there talking: "Why do we need to have that anyways?" It really
495-420: A number of wonderful things for Tom Hanks's company, though this was his first film—were amazingly helpful. Armitage says the script omitted a key plot point in the novel, that the Hare Krishna killed by Fred was Susie's brother. "It took 10 or 15 pages to explain that relationship, and it bothered me—that kind of serendipity. And we were just sitting there talking: "Why do we need to have that anyways?" It really
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#1733084870747540-467: A pie by putting an excessive amount of vinegar in it. To her disappointment, Junior compliments the dessert and eats it with gusto though his face gives it away somewhat. 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, Junior kills the pawnbroker's bodyguard and seriously injures her, but not before she chops several of his fingers off. Badly injured, he limps to
585-467: A pie by putting an excessive amount of vinegar in it. To her disappointment, Junior compliments the dessert and eats it with gusto though his face gives it away somewhat. 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, Junior kills the pawnbroker's bodyguard and seriously injures her, but not before she chops several of his fingers off. Badly injured, he limps to
630-506: A preview in New Jersey, and the audience was horrified when Junior died, they practically rioted when Alec was killed … Alec had a little problem with that—he wanted to be a little broader, I was afraid he was commenting on the character, but I must tell you: he was right. We didn't really agree on set, but then he gave me a call [years later] … and said: "Hey, I'm glad you made me do this and that." I said: "I'm glad you did what you did, too." It
675-453: A preview in New Jersey, and the audience was horrified when Junior died, they practically rioted when Alec was killed … Alec had a little problem with that—he wanted to be a little broader, I was afraid he was commenting on the character, but I must tell you: he was right. We didn't really agree on set, but then he gave me a call [years later] … and said: "Hey, I'm glad you made me do this and that." I said: "I'm glad you did what you did, too." It
720-506: A violent sociopath and self described thief who "steals from other thieves", is recently released from a California prison, and starts a new life in Miami . Before leaving the airport, he steals luggage and unintentionally kills a Hare Krishna by breaking his index finger. Junior checks into a hotel and hooks up with Susie Waggoner, a naive part time prostitute who is a student at a community college. They become romantically involved and move in to
765-459: A violent sociopath and self described thief who "steals from other thieves", is recently released from a California prison, and starts a new life in Miami . Before leaving the airport, he steals luggage and unintentionally kills a Hare Krishna by breaking his index finger. Junior checks into a hotel and hooks up with Susie Waggoner, a naive part time prostitute who is a student at a community college. They become romantically involved and move in to
810-479: Is a dream, an emotional coda. Armitage later recalled, "The counterculture movement had begun, and the people running Fox, especially in the television division, were these 30-ish hipsters, kind of jazz guys. Suddenly I was a person, being 20 or 21, who could explain to them what was going on, and I became very valuable on the lot." He started writing screenplays in his spare time. In 1966 Armitage became an associate producer on Peyton Place , "primarily to deal with
855-540: The Mob , which hadn't been released yet, and he had shot in Miami, and he said to Fred: "Why don't you give it to Din [George Armitage]? Give it to George." And he did, and I loved it. He said "Do you want to write the script and direct it?" I said "Absolutely, let's go." I had worked for Mike Medavoy , who was now head of Orion Pictures, on Vigilante Force , and he said: "Sure, good." Fred, Jonathan, and Gary—who would go on to produce
900-446: The Mob , which hadn't been released yet, and he had shot in Miami, and he said to Fred: "Why don't you give it to Din [George Armitage]? Give it to George." And he did, and I loved it. He said "Do you want to write the script and direct it?" I said "Absolutely, let's go." I had worked for Mike Medavoy , who was now head of Orion Pictures, on Vigilante Force , and he said: "Sure, good." Fred, Jonathan, and Gary—who would go on to produce
945-509: The United States and Canada. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has a rating of 85% based on 26 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Laced with hard-boiled thrills and pitch-black comedy, Miami Blues delivers a disarmingly off-kilter crime caper." On Metacritic , it has a score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave
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#1733084870747990-453: The United States and Canada. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has a rating of 85% based on 26 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Laced with hard-boiled thrills and pitch-black comedy, Miami Blues delivers a disarmingly off-kilter crime caper." On Metacritic , it has a score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave
1035-405: The car, but Susie drives away upon realizing what he's done. Moseley pursues him to the house, where he shoots and kills Junior in self defense. Being ironic with his last words, Junior 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 was kind to her, ate everything she ever cooked and never hit her. The film
1080-405: The car, but Susie drives away upon realizing what he's done. Moseley pursues him to the house, where he shoots and kills Junior in self defense. Being ironic with his last words, Junior 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 was kind to her, ate everything she ever cooked and never hit her. The film
1125-681: The film Last Exit to Brooklyn , Jennifer Jason Leigh won the award for Best Supporting Actress from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Boston Society of Film Critics . Miami Blues Miami Blues is a 1990 American neo-noir black comedy crime drama film directed by George Armitage , based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford . It stars Alec Baldwin , Fred Ward (who also served as an executive producer) and Jennifer Jason Leigh . Frederick J. Frenger Jr. (who asks to be called "Junior"),
1170-659: The film a grade "C" on a scale of A to F. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: " Miami Blues is best appreciated for the performances of its stars and for the kinds of funny, scene-stealing peripheral touches that keep it lively even when it's less than fully convincing." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 2 out of 4 and wrote: "They're looking for the right tone in Miami Blues , and they don't find it very often, but when they do, you can see what they were looking for." For her role in Miami Blues and
1215-548: The film a grade "C" on a scale of A to F. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: " Miami Blues is best appreciated for the performances of its stars and for the kinds of funny, scene-stealing peripheral touches that keep it lively even when it's less than fully convincing." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 2 out of 4 and wrote: "They're looking for the right tone in Miami Blues , and they don't find it very often, but when they do, you can see what they were looking for." For her role in Miami Blues and
1260-425: The mail room at 20th Century Fox . He later said: I have a very personal relationship to film. I've gone to films all the time since I was a kid. I thought I could have some fun trying to make them. I always thought I was pretty close to what people were thinking. There's lots of tricks to be played, things to be done in film. Film is so close to the way the mind works – the way the mind communicates with itself. Film
1305-403: The next day, assaults him and steals his gun, badge and dentures. Junior begins using the badge, impersonating a police officer by breaking up robberies, hold ups, and other criminal solicitations only to keep the loot for himself or demanding bribes as rewards after. While at a convenience store, Junior witnesses an armed robbery and decides to break it up. He lectures the gunman about avoiding
1350-403: The next day, assaults him and steals his gun, badge and dentures. Junior begins using the badge, impersonating a police officer by breaking up robberies, hold ups, and other criminal solicitations only to keep the loot for himself or demanding bribes as rewards after. While at a convenience store, Junior witnesses an armed robbery and decides to break it up. He lectures the gunman about avoiding
1395-515: The other side of the room from the TV people. This left the TV people with nobody else to snob, so they would snob Roger Corman... And that really pissed me off, because I was a fan of his. So I began to visit him on the set and the whole thing, and told him about the conflict that was going on, and he got a kick out of that. Armitage left Fox in 1967 to focus on movies. He wrote a script called Carrot Butts about animated cartoon characters coming to life. This
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1440-435: The shoot, which would shut us down because you could hear the rain on the roof, it was too loud, so we'd have to wait it out. One day we were sitting around Junior and Susie's house, and Alec gets behind the camera and does about a five-minute impression of Tak Fujimoto . Then he moves over to the electrical department and does spot-on impressions of all of those guys. Everybody was awestruck. He also did an impression of me that
1485-435: The shoot, which would shut us down because you could hear the rain on the roof, it was too loud, so we'd have to wait it out. One day we were sitting around Junior and Susie's house, and Alec gets behind the camera and does about a five-minute impression of Tak Fujimoto . Then he moves over to the electrical department and does spot-on impressions of all of those guys. Everybody was awestruck. He also did an impression of me that
1530-469: The young kids on the show, to help them loop their lines." Armitage recalls his period at Fox as an "incredible experience... I went from producer to producer all over the lot pitching ideas, I created series, I wrote a couple of things for television and, about that time, started writing screenplays. Armitage worked as associate producer on Judd for the Defense and created a TV series and tried to co-produce
1575-482: Was a little broader than I would've asked him to play it, but I really like what he did. The film's release was delayed to try to take advantage of Baldwin's success in The Hunt for Red October , which had been released two months earlier, but failed to do so, with an opening weekend gross of $ 3 million from 832 screens to place fourth for the weekend, behind The Hunt for Red October . It went on to gross $ 9.9 million in
1620-433: Was a little broader than I would've asked him to play it, but I really like what he did. The film's release was delayed to try to take advantage of Baldwin's success in The Hunt for Red October , which had been released two months earlier, but failed to do so, with an opening weekend gross of $ 3 million from 832 screens to place fourth for the weekend, behind The Hunt for Red October . It went on to gross $ 9.9 million in
1665-409: Was just a matter of economy. In early drafts it was in. In the novel it works beautifully, because it's Willeford." At one stage Gene Hackman was going to play Hoke and Fred Ward was to play Junior. Then Hackman dropped out and Alec Baldwin came in to read. He knocked us out, so I said: "Fred, what do you think?" He said: "He's Junior. I'll be Hoke." And Alec was extraordinary. It rained a lot during
1710-409: Was just a matter of economy. In early drafts it was in. In the novel it works beautifully, because it's Willeford." At one stage Gene Hackman was going to play Hoke and Fred Ward was to play Junior. Then Hackman dropped out and Alec Baldwin came in to read. He knocked us out, so I said: "Fred, what do you think?" He said: "He's Junior. I'll be Hoke." And Alec was extraordinary. It rained a lot during
1755-485: Was not a large success and Armitage's career then became bogged down in "development hell", apart from the movie Hot Rod . Armitage spend the 1980s mostly writing screenplays which were never made. In 1990 Armitage wrote and directed the film Miami Blues . In 1997 Armitage directed the film Grosse Pointe Blank starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver. Unmade screenplays Acting roles Miami Blues Frederick J. Frenger Jr. (who asks to be called "Junior"),
1800-536: Was quoted in an article as saying: I try to follow the Hollywood sports – to see who's winning. It doesn't seem the best system to make films that are both interesting and commercial, but it's the only one that works, at least for me. I think there must be other ways but I can't think of them. It's all new to me, even after ten years. I would like to see more courage and imagination, of course. That's something to look for. In 1976 he directed Vigilante Force . The picture
1845-415: Was rather insulting, and very funny. What I wanted to do in that was have the audience go on that ride with Junior while he was running around and playing cop, and to really enjoy it—and the audiences I saw it with did—but then slowly I wanted to take it away from them, so that by the end they would feel a little bit guilty about having so much fun earlier on in the picture. However, it kind of backfired—we did
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1890-415: Was rather insulting, and very funny. What I wanted to do in that was have the audience go on that ride with Junior while he was running around and playing cop, and to really enjoy it—and the audiences I saw it with did—but then slowly I wanted to take it away from them, so that by the end they would feel a little bit guilty about having so much fun earlier on in the picture. However, it kind of backfired—we did
1935-510: Was sent to the Cormans, who liked it but could not get financing. However Armitage then wrote Gas-s-s-s for him. Gas-s-s-s impressed Corman enough to allow Armitage to write and direct Private Duty Nurses . Corman optioned an Armitage script, Coming Together . In 1972 Armitage wrote and directed Hit Man [1] , recently acclaimed in John Cribbs' Obscure Genius series. In 1975 Armitage
1980-419: Was the first feature directed by George Armitage in over a decade. He later recalled: Bill Horberg, who was associate producer, brought the book to Fred [Ward], and Fred said: "Oh, this is great." I don't know if Bill had money or not to option the book, but Fred did, and he optioned it. He brought it to Jonathan [Demme] and Gary Goetzman, he wanted Jonathan to direct it. Jonathan had just finished Married to
2025-419: Was the first feature directed by George Armitage in over a decade. He later recalled: Bill Horberg, who was associate producer, brought the book to Fred [Ward], and Fred said: "Oh, this is great." I don't know if Bill had money or not to option the book, but Fred did, and he optioned it. He brought it to Jonathan [Demme] and Gary Goetzman, he wanted Jonathan to direct it. Jonathan had just finished Married to
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