Miami Blues (1990)

79% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
46% of users liked it
(4,550 ratings)

Based on the late Charles Willeford's series of hard-boiled crime novels featuring Miami cop Hoke Moseley, the Jonathan Demme-produced Miami Blues opens with the prison release of Frederick Frenger Jr. (Alec Baldwin), a deranged killer who has barely de-boarded his plane before he's killed a Hare… More Based on the late Charles Willeford's series of hard-boiled crime novels featuring Miami cop Hoke Moseley, the Jonathan Demme-produced Miami Blues opens with the prison release of Frederick Frenger Jr. (Alec Baldwin), a deranged killer who has barely de-boarded his plane before he's killed a Hare Krishna in the airport. Checking into his hotel, Frenger meets up with Susie Waggoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young prostitute with dreams of domestic life, and the two quickly become romantically involved. Meanwhile, the Hare Krishna murder case is given to Moseley (Fred Ward), a grizzled vet who vows to hunt down Frenger, but may be getting too long in the tooth for the demands of his job. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: George Armitage
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Apr 20, 1990 Wide
On DVD: Dec 3, 2002
Studio: Orion Home Video

Critic Reviews

Dan Fienberg, Zap2it.com
Baldwin, Ward and Leigh are all perfect in this violent and funny and underseen gem.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
One of Baldwin's best performances in a solid black comedy
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Hard-boiled and consistently surprising. The entire cast shines.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
A terrific crime movie that's both quirky and gritty.
Frank Ochieng, Movie Eye
A cunningly hip crime caper that packs a decent amount of swagger
Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
A solid but unmemorable crime thriller.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Adam M

It's better after a second viewing, but I wished I had liked this a lot more, after Edgar Wright recommended it. Alec Baldwin gives a great performance as a halfcocked psychopath whose love of life is so strong, mixed up and unscrupulous, he can't help but enjoy breaking… More
It's better after a second viewing, but I wished I had liked this a lot more, after Edgar Wright recommended it. Alec Baldwin gives a great performance as a halfcocked psychopath whose love of life is so strong, mixed up and unscrupulous, he can't help but enjoy breaking fingers, busting jaws, playing cops-and-robbers, shooting people on a gut feeling and answering questions about his preferred vegetables with a pause to think out the words "I don't want to talk about that at this time." The rhythm and humanity of the rest of the movie is not good enough to swing around Baldwin's homicidal urges and primitive faith in carpe diem. Demme produced this after directing Something Wild, where Ray Liotta's character was a lot like Alec Baldwin's here, although less wild-eyed and tilting at windfalls. But the earlier movie wasn't so relativistic about whether squares, suckers and slobs were living life more fully than a violent hoodlum, and about whether violence is just the law of nature that we've grown too soft and decadent to understand.
Dean M

Fine and enjoyable thriller and its mixture of satire, violence and social comment is fresh and invigorating, providing the perfect antidote to <i>Miami Vice</i>.
Joey S

An early Alec Baldwin starring role, and one of his best, this is a very good drama with some elements of a black comedy. Worth seeing for Baldwin's performance at the very least.

Cast

            Alec Baldwin as Frederick J. "Junior" Frenger

            Fred Ward as Sgt. Hoke Moseley

            Jennifer Jason Leigh as Susie "Pepper" Waggoner

            Nora Dunn as Ellita Sanchez

            Charles Napier as Sgt. Bill Henderson

            Jose Perez as Pablo

            Paul Gleason as Sgt. Frank Lackley

            Obba Babatundé as Blink Willie

            Martine Beswick as Noira

            Caitlin Brown as Purse Snatch Victim

            Patrick Cherry as Convenience Store Robber

            Nancy Duerr as Newswoman

            Steve Geng as Big Fish Robber

            Joe Hess as Pedro

            Matt Ingersoll as Mourning Hare Krishna

            Gary Howard Klar as Head Bookie

            Bobo Lewis as Edna Damrosch

            Carmen Lopez as Woman in Sports Car

            Shirley Stoler as Edie Wulgemuth

            Ron Bozman as Senor Lerner

            Gary Goetzman as Hotel Desk Manager

            Buddy Joe Hooker as Shorty

            Edward Saxon as Krishna Ravindra

            Kenneth Utt as Ram Ba

            Roy Datz as Julio

            Tony Tracy as Musclehead

            Howard Feuer
            
            Georgie Cranford as Little Boy

            Herb Goldstein as Eddie Cohen
See full cast