'Fargo' review

5 Reasons Why “Fargo” Wasn’t Funny

A woman is cheerfully knitting and watching a morning show, when she notices a man wearing a black ski mask and holding a crowbar, approaching her back door. She watches the man with curiosity, as he peers into her house through the glass door. She continues to watch him as he breaks the glass door open with the crowbar. She jumps out of her chair and runs towards her front door, where she encounters another man identically dressed as the first one. He grabs her and she bites him, running up the stairs to the second floor. Upstairs, the second man is aiding his hand in the bathroom when the woman, who is hiding in the shower, leaps out and is completely covered by the shower curtain. In her frenzy, she tumbles down the stairs and is momentarily unconscious. The second man is shocked, as he pokes her still body.

In this film called “Fargo” (1996), directed by Joel Coen, while his brother, Ethan, co-wrote the screenplay with him, many people think that this scene is humorous. However, it was one of the many scenes that I did not laugh at. I felt very uncomfortable and I pitied the poor woman, who was not given much of a character description other than being called “Jean” and she is the wife of Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) and the daughter of a wealthy family. In the film, a man hires two men to kidnap his wife and then ask for ransom money from his in-laws, who are wealthy. When the plan goes wrong, a pregnant police chief tries to solve the murder of three people that were killed, among other situations that occur in the film.

Before watching the film, I had no clue what it was about. I watched the film with brand new eyes and I believe that is the best way to watch a movie. Due to this, I had no reason to instantly dislike the movie because of the plot, actors or time period. After I finished watching the film, I looked it up online and Google told me that it is a “dark comedy, crime thriller”. This is something that I disagreed with. I felt as if the internet, the Coen brothers and everyone else in the world was playing a cruel joke on me. This movie was neither a comedy, nor a thriller; in this case, it brings me to a countdown of the reasons why I think “Fargo” is not funny.

Reason #5: Although “Fargo” is classified as a “dark comedy and crime thriller”, it is not funny because of just… that. It does not take much for me, personally, to laugh at something, but because I was not aware that this film was “dark” and “comedic”, I ignored the fact that the film was intended for me to laugh at some of the parts. Such as, Jean falling down the stairs because she got caught in her shower curtain. The reason why she is caught in the shower curtain is disturbing. She is running away from men that are there to kidnap her, an order given by her pathetic husband.

Reason #4: Mental issues and physical problems are joked about. There is a long running, belittling joke about one of the kidnapper’s, Carl (Steve Buscemi), height and appearance. He evidently appears differently than his accomplice, Gaear, who is taller, blond, quiet and seems more intimidating than Carl. Besides Carl’s height and looks being made fun of, another character, Mike, who is an old high school classmate of Marge, the pregnant police chief, has bigger issues. It was obvious to me that he had some type of issue, because not only did he call her home in the middle of the night, but he sounded extremely jittery on the phone call and was very eager to meet her in person. When they finally met for dinner, he told her details about his life that she was not expecting, not that she even wanted to know about it. He cried in front of her, as he poured his heart out to her. Many people would find this hilarious, but it worried me. Marge is a pregnant woman dealing with a mentally ill person, but she appeared calm in front of him and did not show any signs of fear. Soon after that scene, she finds out that Mike lied to her about everything, and the truth is that he is just very ill. The Coen brothers did a bad job of trying to make Mike’s situation funny, but they did a great job of creating mystery and building up Marge’s role of a “mother figure”.

Reason 3: Gore is not funny; it is gross. Not much to say about this theme of the film. There are many scenes where people get killed and they are not pretty or funny sights. I am not sure if the Coen brothers tried to make the death scenes appear “light”, but they did the complete opposite. Usually when I watch death scenes, I feel uneasy about them and it makes me physically sick. In one scene particular, a classmate of mine said that the part when Gaear is seen putting Carl’s body parts into a wood-chipper, that it was one of the best and funniest scenes in the film. Well, I don’t think so. All the viewer sees is literally, Gaear putting body parts in a wood-chipper. There is nothing funny about it, but disturbing and weird. It is weird, because it’s a WOOD-CHIPPER of all things.

Reason 2: The characters, Carl and Jerry and the situations that they’re put in are not funny. I will admit now, I was incredibly happy and excited to see William H. Macy in the film. He is one of my favorite actors, which is ironic because I KNOW that he is a funny person and actor in general. Macy is currently starring in a show called “Shameless” on Showtime and it is so amazing and odd to see him portray a character like Frank Gallagher and then see him play an almost equally pathetic, terrible, and manipulative character such as Jerry Lundegaard. However, what Jerry lacks is humor. If Jerry and Frank met in a jail cell or randomly in a restaurant in Chicago, Jerry could definitely learn a few things. Due to his character being a complete slimeball, this made him less funny and less intriguing. That goes the same for Carl as well. The actions that he carries out, killing multiple people because they “got in the way” was completely unnecessary.

Reason 1: And finally… their accents are not funny. They are very, very annoying. The film was set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and if you didn’t know already, people who are native Minnesotans have very strong accents. Their accents sound almost Scottish or Irish, but like… worse. The characters say “Oh yeah?” in every single scene and their accents became so bothersome to me that it came to the point where I wasn’t even watching the film, I was paying more attention to what they were saying and how they were saying it. I can’t even begin to imagine why the Coen brothers chose this specific state and to actually have their actors speak in the accent for the film. I believe it’s because they think the accent sound funny, so it makes the “crime thriller” aspect of the film sound silly and ridiculous. Not only is the film not funny, but it’s ridiculous to the point of “why am I watching this?” to “what is this even really about?” The ending, just ends with Marge in bed with her husband, pretending like everything's okay, as if she did not just almost die.

I’m not sure about everyone else who has seen the film, but this is not what I signed up for.

'Blue Velvet' Review

Imagine this: Sauntering to the melodic, haunting voice of Lana Del Rey’s cover of “Blue Velvet”. Tiptoeing through a fog of red light, into the mysterious… psychedelic… disturbing world of David Lynch. Do not walk, but run.

David Lynch is notably known for his cult classic television show, Twin Peaks, which only lasted two seasons (but is returning soon at high demand). He directed many neo-noir films such as Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet. He tends to use violence in his work, but transforms it into an esoteric, or surreal visual.

In Blue Velvet, a young man Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) comes home after his father becomes ill. He finds a detached ear in a field and he decides to work with the town detective's daughter Sandy Williams (Laura Dern) to figure out what happened. The ear guides Beaumont on an investigation, which leads him to a sensual, mysterious nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini) and a group of psychotic men who have taken her child. Beaumont tries his very best to solve the mystery and help the woman, but is also caught in her situation. It is difficult for him to part ways, when he is deeply attracted to her.

In the film, it opens up with the title sequence, against a blue velvet background and haunting, spine-tingling instrumental music. It cuts to the soothing song “Blue Velvet”, which is the film’s theme song. The viewer sees red roses, a man smiling and waving on an electrical plant truck, accompanied by his dog. It later transitions to yellow tulips, children crossing the street heading to school, and then a house with a man watering his lawn. The music continues as the scene cuts back and forth between a woman inside the house watching a mystery film and the man watering his lawn, who suddenly has a stroke. A dog and a baby approach the man as he lays on the ground, struggling for help. Then the music becomes creepy and eerie as a close up of the grass follows a pile of bugs.

Cut to the end of the film, where a similar sequence happens. In this case, Jeffrey, Sandy and her mother are in the Williams’ kitchen looking at a bird sitting on the windowsill with a bug in its beak. Sandy asks, “It’s a strange world, isn’t it?” with no one answering her. The beginning sequence of the film is repeated, however it is shown in reverse order: yellow tulips, man with dog on passing truck, red roses… and finally a little boy running towards Dorothy, who is reunited with her son. The look on her face indicates that she is finally at ease and happy to be with her son, but there is also a sad look to it. The film closes with the last line from “Blue Velvet”, echoing “And I can still see Blue Velvet through my tears”. Which could mean that although Dorothy is safe and with her son, she still has the painful memories of the events that occurred.

I believe the film opened like it did to show in almost a sarcastic way how at peace and cheerful the town looked, but little do the residents know that there are ominous events happening. Not everyone is happy, or every situation is good, and the beginning shows this. The ending is just a repeat in reverse form but altered because it actually is a happy ending, though it raises eyebrows in which, “Is everything really okay? Is David Lynch just messing with us again? Will Jeffrey find another ear?” these are questions that some might ask, but they are unnecessary because at the end, it closed without having any loose ends.