MIAMI BLUES
A film review by Rogers Cadenhead
Copyright 1990 Rogers Cadenhead
Alec Baldwin, the actor whose performance in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER has catapulted him into the rank of leading men, does his level best to sink back down in the odd character roles with his performance in MIAMI BLUES. In a riveting, comic style that combines the lunacy of Jack Nicholson's Joker with a cold intelligence, Baldwin plays a rotten SOB in a way that's fun -- at times hysterical -- to watch. This film, co-produced by the mind behind SOMETHING WILD and MARRIED TO THE MOB, has a lot of good-spirited eccentricity in common with those two pictures. But there's a core of violent meanness to MIAMI BLUES that can't be denied. Senses of sex and killing are kept on-screen too long for the dark comedy to be much of a lark at times.
But it is the relationships, and not the plot, that make MIAMI BLUES one of the best spring releases. Alec Baldwin's psycho, his former hooker girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and the poor cop (Fred Ward) are such fully realized characters that their interaction is, on its own, fun to watch even if nothing is happening. A scene between Ward and Leigh in a supermarket, and Baldwin and Leigh at a dinner date, are both truly captivating moments. Even minor supporting parts, such as a female cop who has disdain for Ward because he loses his gun, badge and false teeth to Baldwin, have fire in them -- the female cop and Ward have this unspoken sexual dynamic motivating their treatment of each other. The script never addresses it, but in a scene where the female cop arrives at Ward's door, dressed in an evening gown for her impending date, and Ward answers in his boxer shorts and underwear, there's a weird game going on between them. That's an example of why this film is so good.
But there are also a few examples of why it can be so bad. Two shockingly violent episodes occur in the film -- not ferocious but still unnerving to the point that entire rows of audience members were cringing and speaking to the screen (when most folks don't ever do that sort of thing) -- and the entire film has a level of violence akin to the MIAMI VICE show and many action films, though MIAMI BLUES is not an action film, per se. If an orgy of violence wasn't such a regular occurrence in movies, MIAMI BLUES would be regarded as one of the year's most inspired films. But because we Americans are fed so much violence, the novelty -- and the amount of relevance -- of MIAMI BLUES' fable of crime and consequence is a little thin. But for the performances of the three principal performers, and some unusual film techniques, it's definitely worth seeing.
Rogers
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