Funny thing is, Wade was being the good one here; despite his disdain for Jerry, Wade spared a thought and tried including Jerry in the conversation, heck even asking what the latter’s finders fee was. Any normal business deal would try to exclude the middle man if the dealer wanted to be an asshole.
First time I saw this movie was when it came out on tape and I thought that Jerry was so stupid to not just make this deal. I didn't even understand that the point was that he was greedy and wanted to pay off loans. It took a couple decades for that to really sink in.
"We're not a Bank, Jerry." I always quote this to my wife when she wants to do something expensive like go to Paris. I tell her we're not a bank, Honey. You want a loan on $5,000 to go to Paris, I suggest you go down to Midwest Federal and talk to Old Bill Diehl. Lol
One of the best jokes the Coens ever wrote is later in the movie when Scotty is crying in his room because he’s terrified for his mom, then Jerry tries to console him by saying the kidnappers just want money, then says “Ask Stan Grossman, he’ll tell you the same thing.” He told his young teenage son to go ask his grandfather’s business partner if his mother’s going to be alright, and when I noticed that it became my favorite line in the movie. Jerry is terrible and inept on every front.
This is how I grew up. My dad had an amazing office overlooking Minneapolis, gorgeous, crazy at the same time. Actors are close to authentic if you are not from the region and curious.
A sheep that dreamed of being a wolf, only to find out wolves are way more intelligent, and so much more ruthless. That line about moving on on it, independently. Cruel.
I feel like “I’d go to Midwest Federal, talk to Old Bill Diehl” is exactly something the Coen brothers heard an older male relative say once at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Jerry is so mentally & emotionally broken after this meeting that he doesn't even know to start his car up and put the front & back defrosters on first, then start scraping the ice of of the windshields.
so bottom line, he needed the money for this deal, he was scamming the dealership with the loans, and then he had his wife kidnapped to get more money. WTH was he wanting the money for????
Guy runs a car dealership and is married to your daughter, but you don't trust him enough to invest in his proposed business deal. "We are not a bank" is a great line for any investor who wants to manipulate others.
I guess it's the fact that two business men not having a chair prepared for the third man in the party, means they disrespect him, they don't think much of him as a person, they don't expect him to take too much of their time, or it's just the fact that people from Minnesota and the Dakotas, fend for themselves in all situations....whether it be in a restaurant or most any social situation, it's not unusual for a man to find his own chair, or in this case, turn the chair around. He read the message well...he wasn't expected to stay long.. just long enough for Gusterson and Grossman to establish what they must give him, like obligatory, for honoring them with a business opportunity.
There is only one thing wrong with the scene in the snow-covered parking lot. Jerry doesn't start the car first and put the AC on max defrost before he begins scraping the windshield. I live in Canada, and that's what we would do. Maybe is just a Canadian thing...minor point of course. Fargo is a great film. Macy is great as well.
Americans do the same thing. I also spray some de-icer fluid on my windows, so I don't even have to scrape. It melts ice almost instantly and you just remove the slush with your windshield wipers. Scraping is the thing of the past.
Finding the deal and then losing the deal in under 5 minutes. Jerry lundegaard has overplayed his hand. How many people do we know collectively who do this everyday?
Legend has it ..... the elusive Bill Diehl is still out there somewhere, moving about the financial industry in search of a home.....to foreclose on......
Typical. I've had it happen to me before. Agreed upon commission for a deal then at the time to pay....oh, you didn't understand. I say ok, keep the money. Keep the money? they say. lol....just to scare the living sh*, out of them.
Jerry came at this the all the wrong way. He needed to start the car and turn on the defrost to let the windshield ice melt off some before beginning to scape at it. Any Minnesotan knows that. Sheesh Jerry, c’mon.
The whole business concept of this scene is such trash. In reality, Jerry could have, indeed, gone to a private equity group and given them a stake in the investment as well as interest on the loan. At 1% above prime on the interest side and 30% equity in the investment, the deal would be a no-brainer for a savvy private equity group. But, instead, Jerry goes to his greedy father-in-law who has no respect for Jerry and is more than ready to steal the deal from Jerry. So, the script makes Jerry smart enough to identify a sound investment deal, but dumb about everything else--which makes no sense. Of course, if they didn't have such a nonsensical character there would be no story and screenplay to develop. The filmmakers were very lucky to cast Bill Macy because he had the acting skills to take a stupid script and character and make him believable and entertaining.
