Miami Blues was released in 1990 and directed by George Armitage. Armitage is a very talented director and made Grosse Pointe Blank, one of my very favourite films. Yet, George has a strange career; he started working for Roger Corman back in the 1970s and only has seven directorial credits to his name in his total career. This said, Miami Blues and Grosse Pointe Blank are two of the best films of the 1990s.
So where do we start with Miami Blues? It’s funny, cute, and has some great characterisations. Based on a novel by the cult author Charles Willeford, George wrote the script himself and bagged two of the best actors around in Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh to play the mismatched couple who actually work hard to grab their slice of the American dream.
Fred Ward plays the cop, well, I say cop in the loosest sense of the word. Ward is funny and relishes the role, it’s also probably the best performance of the actors career. Other cult actors pepper the film in small roles.
In writing this, I don’t want to give away too much about the plot, if you’re interested have a look at the trailer below. The film is worth seeking out, especially if like me, you’re a fan of Grosse Pointe Blank. Miami Blues isn’t as good as Grosse Pointe, but you can see a foreshadowing of where the attitude and humour came from.
Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs. Matthew was winner of the first ever Lloyds Bank Channel Four Film Challenge, the Oscar Moore Screenplay Prize and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer. You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb. You can get in touch with Matthew on matcoop23@yahoo.co.uk