FEELING MINNESOTA
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.5 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 9/13/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:35 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity, sex, violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Vince D'Onofrio, Cameron Diaz, Dan Aykroyd, Delroy Lindo, Tuesday Weld, Michael Rispoli, Courtney Love Director: Steven Baigleman Producers: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher Screenplay: Steven Baigleman Cinematography: Walt Lloyd Music: Los Lobos U.S. Distributor: Fine Line Features
The Soundgarden song goes, "I'm looking California and feeling Minnesota." In Steven Baigleman's FEELING MINNESOTA, the characters may be looking to Las Vegas, but they're still feeling Minnesota, which is where most of the movie takes place.
I think my most frequent complaint about movies is that they're not original enough. That's one accusation I won't be leveling at FEELING MINNESOTA, for, while this twisted romantic comedy is far from an example of perfect film making, it is quirky, offbeat, and highly original. Take a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, set them down in a universe that feels like it was created by pop-culture wannabe-god Quentin Tarantino, and throw in dashes of THE STING, Dostoevsky, and the absurdist humor of MONTY PYTHON, and you still haven't quite got what FEELING MINNESOTA is offering.
Writer/director Baigleman has cheerfully thrown all the formulas out the window. I suppose it's possible to guess at the outcome of certain events, but, in general, this movie defies prediction. Some of the twists are decidedly bizarre, but it's precisely because this movie is willing to take chances that I'm giving it a marginal recommendation. I'll admit that I didn't always feel comfortable watching FEELING MINNESOTA -- it's a gritty, grungy film with thoroughly dislikeable characters -- but I admired what Baigleman was trying to do, even when his attempts went astray.
The opening of FEELING MINNESOTA introduces us to Freddie (Cameron Diaz), who, dressed in a wedding gown, is fleeing from her former boss, Red (Delroy Lindo), an underworld-type. Red has plans to punish Freddie, who he believes stole $10,000 from him. He's going to force her to marry his most loyal employee, Sam Clayton (Vincent D'Onofrio), because, in his words, "It's the worst thing I could think to do to you." Despite the bride's reluctance, the ceremony takes place. In attendance is Sam's younger brother, Jjaks (Keanu Reeves), a repeat offender criminal who despises all of his blood relations. There is immediate electricity between Jjaks and Freddie, and, while the reception is going on outside Sam's house, the pair retires inside for some quick sex. Afterwards, when Jjaks announces his intention to hit the road again, Freddie begs him to take both her and Sam's private stock of cash with him. Then, together, they can head to Las Vegas, her vision of paradise-on-Earth.
I'm reasonably sure that Baigleman intended for FEELING MINNESOTA to be a comedy, but, primarily because the tone is so grim (people are always dying unexpectedly), it's difficult to find much that's funny. Anyone expecting to laugh their head off is in for a bummer. FEELING MINNESOTA's sense of humor is bleak -- this picture is a prime example of a black comedy. I mean, two guys sitting on opposite sides of a road, pelting each other with rocks is ludicrous, but hardly likely to cause waves of uncontrollable laughter. And, as was the case in TRUE ROMANCE, the love affair between the man and woman is far less important than the one between the men and their guns. On top of that, it's impossible to sympathize with the characters -- they're all a bunch of intellectually dim, lowlife criminals for whom betrayal and backstabbing are second nature.
For the most part, I'm not a big Keanu Reeves fan. But, despite his limited range, he's right for Jjaks. His performance in FEELING MINNESOTA never caused me to wince. Cameron Diaz, who has been appearing in a number of independent productions (including THE LAST SUPPER and SHE'S THE ONE) continues to show great promise. Even under all the grime of FEELING MINNESOTA, her charisma shines through. Vincent D'Onofrio, who usually plays inoffensive supporting roles, is effective here as Sam the bully. Dan Aykroyd has a sometimes-amusing, sometimes-irritating part as a crooked police officer infatuated with Freddie (his fake accent makes him sound like he wandered over from FARGO).
Ultimately, I probably liked the idea of FEELING MINNESOTA more than I enjoyed the execution. Nevertheless, when the end credits rolled, I was reasonably satisfied because I had just experienced something a little different. FEELING MINNESOTA certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, and, despite the drawing power of Keanu Reeves, I'm not sure it was wise to expose the film to such a wide distribution (it invites disappointment). But, if you're tired of routine, "feel good", Hollywood fare and are looking for something a little Tarantino- ish and a lot unusual, FEELING MINNESOTA will leave you feeling pleasantly surprised.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews