Fargo (1996) Reaction & Review! FIRST TIME WATCHING!! 

Universal executives suggested that the Coens cut the Mike Yanagita scene, as it seemed extraneous to the rest of the story. But if you think of it in terms of this being Marge's story, then every scene with her is either leading her toward or away from solving the crime, and she needs to determine what are the things that will lead her to solving the crime. She is sharp, able to notice different sets of footprints in the snow at the highway murder scene, and intuiting that the dead trooper wrote "DLR" as shorthand for "Dealer Plates." But she is a small town police officer, likely unaccustomed to major crimes like murder, kidnapping and extortion. Crimes that usually require those that commit them to be dishonest, in order to get away with them. Frankly, form Marge's experience, and the nature of the "Minnesota Nice" vibe that permeates the environment of the film, she may be unaccustomed to people lying to her in general, despite her position as a police officer. When she meets with Mike, he tells her that he was married, but that his wife died of cancer. He tells her this as he pathetically tries to woo her. Later she describes meeting with Mike and that she pities him for losing his wife to cancer. But she then learns that Mike was never married, never lost his wife to cancer. She realizes, in scenes of reflection, as she's eating and driving, that if she believed Mike even though he was lying, she might've been lied to by Jerry, but not realized it. So she decides to reinterview Jerry, and that second visit is all it takes for Jerry to lose his cool and try to run away. Later, after she's captured Gaear, she says to him, "I just don't understand it." She is directly referring to the loss of all the people who were murdered over the money, but in a broader sense you could say she also has a hard time personally understanding and registering when some people are hiding their darker nature. The film concludes with her cuddled with her guy, bolstering him for his success, never mentioning the darkness she has encountered. Her husband remarks that their baby will be coming in just two more months and we, the audience, are left to hope that the joy of their impending child will be enough to quell some of the darkness that Marge has uncovered.

When I was a teen, I bought a special edition VHS of this movie that came with a snow globe of the wood chipper scene. So, yeah, I peaked early.

Her eating every meal reinforces that it's part of her routine. She's pregnant and everything seems incredible, but she just responds to the situation as average, and even in the end it's not really that traumatic. It's just an event she encounters and doesn't understand but isn't otherwise affected.

One of the things I loved about this movie, is how the Coen brothers portray Marge’s job as everyday routine, versus the cop and robber excitement that we usually see in murder stories. In real life a person couldn’t survive that much adrenaline. The Coen’s frame Marges life in a more more realistic manner. People eat , cars don’t start , we meet strange friends our spouses have there own concerns, people eat in buffets Even with the kidnapping which is a serious situation, it is portrayed more realistically because in real life stupid things, funny things happen to what should be extremely serious. I loved it .

I just realized Marge never got to see how funny looking Carl was

Didn't hear you mention "O Brother Where Art Thou." Great Coen brothers movie.

You've gotta watch O Brother Where Art Thou by the Coens. There are lots of ways I could sum it up in a sentence but I wouldn't want to spoil it with any of them. Just know that it's an amazing film starring George Clooney with a great soundtrack and wonderful characters.

Hard to believe that Fargo lost the Oscar Best Picture to The English Patient.

Note that Marge went back to interview Jerry again, after the reveal about Mike's lies. I think that it woke her up to not just take people's word but recheck again. Before she went back to Jerry, she sat in her car, pensively thinking about everything.

The scene with her old friend was necessary to the plot. After her first interview with Jerry, she takes his word about his knowledge of the car she is searching. However, after having found out her old friend made out a story and lied to her face, she developped a new suspicion that told her not to take Jerry's denials at face value since something with the car missing didn't add up. Ultimately, that's what led her to the solving of the case.

The significance of the Mike Yanagita scene is that when Marge finds out the truth about him, she realizes things might not be what they originally seem and it makes her go back to Jerry Lundegaard.

The meeting with the friend got her to see what someone lying looks and acts like and reminds her of how Jerry was acting. Glad you liked it this is a top 5 for me!

Imagine arguing about half a car with a cold blooded killer, when you have just under $1M waiting for you. lol

A good movie which also has William H. Macy in it is "Pleasantville."

Marge was a decent and kind but formidable and tough. She was kind to the old schoolmate but firm in a gentle way. Also a first-rate cop.

I like Fargo's musical theme with the violin!

This and The Big Lebowski is in my opinion, the Coen Brothers artistic peak.

10:10 - The voice on the TV says, "In the spring, the larvae hatch and the cycle begins again." I think that ties into the ending of the film where Marge first scolds Peter Stormare lamenting the state of humanity ("I just don't understand it.") and then the film ends on a hopeful note "..two more months..." anticipating the birth of their child and perhaps hope for humanity.

Shan, if you wanna see what becomes of the money, watch the first season of the Fargo television series. It's positively fantastic. Noah Hawley is the creator/showrunner/writer (with the Coens producing), who turned out to be one of the biggest talent finds of the last 20 years. He's continued to make Fargo, where every season is completely different as far as characters, historical time-frame and the overall story. They merely take place in the same general areas that were explored in the film. He also created, wrote and produced Legion (one of the best comic book related shows ever) and is currently developing an Alien (the franchise) television series.

*Not based on a true story. *The girl who goes on about Buscemi being funny looking is funny looking herself.😀 *People, deceived by the "true story" tag, have spent ages trying to find the place where JB 😔buried the money. *Marge eats a lot because she's pregnant. *The chap shovelling snow under a lowering sky who talks about it being "cold tomorrow". 😀 *Cop convoy driving through blizzard: Marge says, "And it's such a beautiful day!"😀

When are you going to react to "Raising Arizona", one of the Coen Brother's first hit in the 80's?

I always took the Mike scene to serve two important purposes: Yes as someone else points out, it was Mike's lying that gave Marge the spark to go back and reinterview Jerry Lundegard. Maybe she was being too naive? Maybe there was something she didn't understand? Just as with Mike, something is wrong with Jerry on the surface. She's just been told this about Mike from a trusted friend, and she has a chance to sit, eat and contemplate the meaning. She's left with some peculiar questions, not answers. It serves another purpose and that is to create a dark counterpoint to her own life. This is not plot stuff at all, this is about her nature and character. At several points in the movie we see this reinforced, any time she's with her husband, any time she's at work. Her husband has a simple honesty and lack of drama, her and her husband are good people. There are things going on around them that she can't understand. This is summarized in her final speech at the end, when she's almost chastizing the criminal like a child. On the one hand it kind of demonstrates that she's out of touch to that dark reality, and her nature isn't going to allow her to get it. There's a wide contrast between the truly good and the corrupted. I don't think any of this is obvious (or supposed to be obvious) to us on the first viewing. To cut this scene would've left out important depth and nuance that almost forces you to reexamine what it means.

Shan, since you liked this so much, you'll really like "Blood Simple". Also a Coen brothers' film with a complex, well-written story and dark humor.

A true classic! If you have't seen "Raising Arizona" by the Coen Brothers, then that's a must see.

I would strongly recommend 'Miller's Crossing'. It's a great Coen Brothers movie that is overlooked by many.

Burn After Reading is my personal favorite Coen Bros. movie. Just so funny, and actually fairly similar to Fargo as the plot goes. And I may be the only person to love The Ladykillers, but that movie cracks me up. Tom Hanks is a riot in it.

I hope you react to the Coen Brothers' first movie "Blood Simple". It's very low budget and amazingly tight and spare. Very memorable!

The scene with Mike fits into the story because when she learns later that he was lying it triggers something in her mind to go back and interview Jerry again...because he could have been lying the first time

Who else thinks about poor Scotty finding out his mom and grandfather are dead, and his father is to blame?

I think "A Serious Man" is one of the Coen bros' most underrated movies. You also have to do "Miller's Crossing".

I once meet Peter Stormare back in 2008 & I was so star-struck and nervous, but I went up to him and said; I'm your biggest fan, love your work and the best role you've ever done was in Fargo". Then I tried to described how great he played in that movie, while being nervous, and all of a sudden he gave me a hug! I did not expect that, but it was awesome! =D He could tell that I've been doing theatre, my major course in high school was theatre and I've been doing theatre since I was 15. He's a very down to earth person and a nice guy =)

Fargo is one of my favorite films. Love Margie (Frances McDormand) and William H. Macy. Such a sad story with all the murders but then there are true life stories like that. William was an incompetent husband, employee and plotter of his kidnapping scheme. The kidnappers were incompetent and resorted to the murder of so many innocents since they couldn’t do their jobs right. And the money ended up benefitting no one. The murderers didn’t end up with it, didn’t even know it was that much since William was scamming them too. William didn’t end up with the money since he got caught and would go to jail. Just a horrible outcome of greed. Margie was the bright light. A competent cop doing her job. She might have been a little innocent and a little too trusting at first but learned how sad these criminals were. Good reaction.

O Brother Where Art Thou is their best flick to me. Never seen anyone react to it. If you want another Coen Brothers you should give that one a look.

You need to watch O Brother Where Art Thou and Raising Arizona, two of the best Coen Brothers movies. Nicholas Cage's performance is amazing in Raising Arizona, because when you watch it, you don't see Cage, you see his character.

I *like* that the kidnappers were not fleshed out. One of the themes of this movie is the banality of crime/violence. The two kidnappers are total losers, driven by envy, greed and mindless cruelty, and both come to a sticky and ignominious end. Same for Jerry Lungaard, whom I consider a truly evil character. He is a total loser, his father in law *knows* he is a loser, but has given him a position in his car dealership for his daughter's sake. Jerry, of course, like the two kidnappers, thinks very highly of himself. Believes himself to be smarter than his father in law, and embezzled money from the company to speculate with it, which fails (of course it does), and then hatches an evil plot to have his wife 'kidnapped' by thugs and then cheat the thugs out of most of the ransom money. And he thinks he can control the thugs and the situation. And of course he can't, because he is a total loser. So yes, I love how Jerry is taken down in his underwear, sniveling like a little girl. I love how one thug is stupidly murdered by his 'friend' (because really, you could see how much the two loathed and detested each other, and how much they grated on each other's nerves, a mile away) and how the other is running away in his underwear through the snow, and shot down like a dog, by a pregnant lady cop. They don't deserve to be 'fleshed out'. To 'flesh them out' would make them 'interesting', and they are not; they are loser murderous thugs and it's enormously satisfying that they did not get the honor of an interesting backstory but were simply shown for the stupid, incompetent losers they were.

This is my favorite Coen brothers movie and I love pretty much all of them. I hope you go through the rest of their catalog. On a side note, the Fargo tv show is an excellent companion. Each season takes place in the same world in different time periods. It's also very good.

I moved to the Twin Cities area in Minnesota the year this movie was released. One of the local radio stations had a field day with this movie and hosted a "Great Fargo Give-away" contest where the winning caller each day got a prize. Some of the prizes were: a tan Sierra just like from the movie. Another prize was an all expense paid weekend getaway at the Blue Ox in Brainerd. And, the grand prize in their giveaway contest was... a wood chipper!

My favorite Coen Bros movie is their first "Blood Simple". It's awesome!

You might want to check out the series "Fargo" (4 seasons so far, but is an anthology). S01 starring Martin Freeman is one of the best seasons of recent shows, and AFAIK the Coen brothers were involved with it as well.

Coen brothers are amazing and the performances here are next level.

One of my favorites. Thanks for getting to it. There's just so much subtle humor and nuance to the writing and acting. Every time I watch there's something new that either makes me laugh or makes me go "hey I missed that". "You're a smooth smoothie ya know" is still my favorite line, after he fails to bribe the trooper.

My ideal Coen Brothers trifecta: 🎬 Raising Arizona (for its sly humor punctuated by dazzling editing of completely surprising camerawork) 🎥 The Hudsucker Proxy (for its retro-kitsch costumes and sets, its punchy double-take moments and a delightful turn by character actor Bill Cobb) 🎞️ and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (for its clever parallels with Homer's Odyssey [!] ) 📽️ All recommended with sincere thanks for previous efforts. Ta! 😎

2:00 Carter Burwell's music in the beginning is so fantastic. 10:00 'All work and no play makes Gaear a dull boy...' ;) 15:52 Every winter I go running on the frozen sea and listen that music. :) 16:54 It was like a few days of peoples lives, no special beginning or end.

Please watch the Fargo series. It’s 100% worth your time. 😎

I highly recommend Miller's Crossing - far and away my favorite Coen brothers film.

As a Norwegian, this movie is always a kick to watch. Not only do the Scandinavian accents come through (Jaaaae!) but that melancholy fiddle dominating a lot of the background music is something that I recognize immediately, it's *very* Nordic!

The Coen brothers are from St.Louis Park, Minnesota so there are some inside references in there that resonate more with Minnesotans. The accents were a little too thick for what you’ll typically find in The (Twin) Cities. The dealership though is, if I recall, in Richfield so some of takes place close to their their hometown. I used to work on the same street as the dealership and this movie really brings back some memories.

He's fleeing the interview!!!!

Jerry is such a well made character in my opinion, you can understand why he’s doing what he’s doing but not sympathize with it, you can feel bad for him but not for the things he does, he is not a professional and doesn’t know what he’s doing and that’s shown even as his final moment on scene is being dragged, screaming and crying. I love it so much.

I'm so glad that you laugh at the same morbid shit I do! Dude shows up in a mask, holding a crowbar, takes his sweet time looking in the windows, and she's just sitting there staring! 😂 I also love how unbothered Peter Stormare is when he goes into the bathroom and the window is open. All he cares about is finding an antibiotic to put on his hand. 🤣🤣🤣

I watched this for the first time myself last year , Marge Gunderson is one of my favourite characters

An underrated Coen Bros film is their remake of "Ladykillers" with Tom Hanks.

FINALLY!! A reactor that is laughing his posterior off! It killed me also, and I get "why laugh at a kidnapping in progress?" looks.Great kidnap scene,

The first time I saw the movie Fargo was in the city of Fargo. The only scene filmed in Fargo was the bar scene in the first few minutes. So much of it was based in Minnesota. The timing of the filming was a bit unfortunate. That winter, there was very little snow, so they had to get lots of snow-maker machines to create the snow they needed. A winter or two later, they had 10 feet of snow. So even the burying of the case of money by the fence (never resolved in the film) was supposed to be much deeper snow. The parking lot scenes had barely enough snow to satisfy the filmmakers. And yet on the final drive in the film, she mentions how it's a beautiful day, despite being cold and desolate. I also know someone who recognized the humor in the film and totally forgot about the aspects that are not family friendly, and then recommended it to people who expected it to be a family-friendly comedy. That clearly wasn't the case. Oh, and while watching Fargo in Fargo, it was hilarious. Since Fargo is on the border of Minnesota and North Dakota, one does notice the accents/dialects. When the accent was heavy or the stereotypes stood out (like the accordion at the base of the kid's bed or his poster of accordion player Frank Yankovic), people laughed quite a bit. I realized it was for a couple of reasons. 1. We all know that most people in that area do NOT sound that way, and most people don't know how to play the accordion. 2. We all know the places where the accent is very heavy, and we know people who play the accordion...oh, you betcha!

This movie is NOT Based on a true story, but it's inspired by real events in 1963 and 1987.

The more I think about the Mike Yanagita sequence the more brilliant it is. Its like the way things happen in real life -- if you believe everything happens for a reason. There are so many events that seem completely random and unconnected... but they lead to very specific outcomes that wouldn't have happened without every piece in place.

The ceramic pig next to the phone 6:16 is a Shawnee cookie jar, from the 1940s. I have one of these from my grandparents. It's worth a few hundred dollars. I wonder if it was just a random prop choice-- or if it was placed in the shot intentionally, maybe as an ironic comment on Jerry's luck and his greed.

random fact - at 9:29, the girl on the right is Melissa Peterman (in her first film role) who plays Sheldon's neighbor Brenda Sparks on Young Sheldon.

You should do Once Upon A Time In The West

One of my favourite movies. You made me happy with this reaction video.

You're right about the film's "uncomfortable humor." It's very deliberate and meant to make us uneasy. I always flinch when I hear this film referred to as a "comedy." Humor when applied in such a perverse manner for a goal other than amusement isn't comedic. In this case, it even increases the tragedy. What I like about the ending, and all of the Norm scenes, is that what he does is just as important to Marge as what she does--she's excited about his fishing and his getting a painting on the 3 cent stamp, while the thrilling murder case she just took part in is already forgotten. It's like all the little scenes of her eating or going about her business, showing that what for us is an exciting story is just part of her day. Great reaction.

The statue you have seen on several occasions is depicting Paul Bunyan - a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. Funny (pun intended) reaction and review 👏🏼

I love the way Francis talks in this movie. It is so funny.

People never seem to mention THE HUDSUCKER PROXY. This is an early Cohen bros film starring Tim Robbins and Paul Newman.

I think the scene with Marge's old high school friend is very important to the movie. In my opinion, the movie is really about finding contentment and happiness in your life, even if it's simple. If you look at every character through that lens, you can which characters are happy with who and where they are and which characters are struggling. It's very poignant.

Some fun facts: - The actress for Jerry's wife was only available for a small period of shooting, so pretty much every scene where her face is covered, it's actually a stuntman with a padded chest. - The Coens happened to film during the warmest winter in Minnesota history, and had to shoot scenes as the snow and ice melted. Pretty much any scene involving snow, the land outside of the shot is green and healthy. The parking lot scene where Jerry walks out to his car was especially difficult, as the Coens wanted a perfectly white blanket of snow, but because it was so warm, they had to spend all night collecting shaved ice from an ice dispenser in a nearby motel, then spread it out over the parking lot. They only had one chance to shoot the scene correctly. - Despite being called Fargo, the majority of the film takes place outside of Fargo, which ties into its tongue-in-cheek nature (because this very much isn't a true story). - Frances McDormand claims that she can only do the Fargo accent if she's wearing her wig, which is the only prop she brought home with her after filming wrapped. - The Paul Bunyan statue was built specifically for the film and was demolished some time after.

I can’t wait to watch this reaction. Working now, but Fargo is one of the best of the 90’s.

I've never paid much attention to cinematographers but just had a look at Roger Deakins credits and he's works on some fine films. Besides the Coen's "Barton Fink" and "The Hudsucker Proxy" (both recommended) he worked on "1984", "Sid and Nancy", "The Reader" (a must-see, it won Kate Winslet best actress Oscar) and "Blade Runner 2049".

Awesome review. Frances won the Oscar for best actress, and the Cohen brothers won Best original screenplay. You need to check out Miller's Crossing.

You might check out the "Fargo" TV series. Each season is a separate story with new characters, so they can be watched independently of each other, but they do connect with a few plot points and some common themes. The first season also has one direct connection to the movie, which gives an answer to a loose end.

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter is a movie with a connection to this movie

I believe that wood-chipper has its own Facebook page. I remember stumbling across it several years ago. If you do a search for 'Wood-chipper from Fargo' you'll probably find it. Tourists can have their photos taken & I think there's even the leg & tennis shoe sticking out of the top.

Love this film. I'd seen Macy and McDormand in other films before, but this is the one that cemented them in my mind as brilliant and largely underrated actors.

One of my favorites Coen movies along with Raising Arizona, the best performance of Cage ever. Super funny movie.

The visual style is uniquely their own. Go back and watch their first film "Blood Simple" (1984). It was photographed by Barry Sonnenfeld who became a director in his own right having directed "Men In Black" among others. Another of my favorite Coen Brothers films is "Hail Caesar", which I highly recommend.

No fucking way. 2 minutes? Love you, guy. The reactor man.

Thank you for reacting! I feel like so many reactors fail to appreciate the humour, but you get it :)

The reason they showed her acting normally to contrast her decency to the city slickers debauchery. Also the scene of burying the money and he looks in both directions and realizing the is no landmarks in the Plane State for hundreds of kilometres. Also it was actually shot in SASKATCHEWAN in one of the coldest winters in history

Next is the underrated Barton Fink..a movie you need to watch many multiple times as The Coen Brothers used multiple levels of hidden signs and background info. Your understanding of the movie will change every time you watch it as you see new stuff you didn't notice the last time.Barton Fink is a must see!!!

Funny, I just watched this movie for the first time a couple days ago

You should have more subscribers. Your reviews are really high quality. I enjoy watching you a great deal.

The subplot with Mike Yanagita is VERY important. Without that encounter Marge would not have solved the case

you should totally watch Barton Fink, probably you haven't seen nothing like that before! Amazing film! also, if you wanna know what happened with the money, you need to watch the tv show, season 1.

You mention that the Coen brothers aren’t scared of killing off main characters. For me, I see it as their primary message in their movies; make bad decisions and bad things will happen to you. Whether you’re a protagonist or a villain, the Cohen brothers will not reward you for deciding to steal, cheat, kill, etc. Burn After Reading and No Country For Old Men and The Big Lebowski and Fargo all show this trait in a big way.

The subplot with Mike was important in that it showed Marge that people can hide who they really are. She talks to a friend who tells her Mike’s wife is fine and it was a ploy by Mike (bad one at that) to try and get with Marge by playing on her sympathy. It makes here think about giving another run at Jerry as maybe he wasn’’t being truthful either and ends up being a successful hunch.

One of my favorite movies...I enjoyed seeing all the familiar places in the Twin Cities!

Marge is such a great character. and no one looked at wood chippers the same after this came out.

It probably wouldn't be suited for reactions since it's an anthology movie, but the Coen Brother's "Ballad of Buster Scruggs" is absolutely worth watching. It's a recent film of theirs that they made for Netflix, that's a compilation of six short stories in a western setting. I love it a lot, but it doesn't get brought up a lot when people discuss their works.

I think the scene between Marge and Mike is there to help Marge realise that her "normal, boring" life with Norm is pretty good, and that other people can be really messed up.

Being from Minneapolis/Minnesota I love hearing all the towns named throughout haha love this movie

The Fargo TV series was awesome as well, I enjoyed Martin Freeman's downward spiral in it immensly.

Raising Arizona is a Coen Bros essential

Fun fact: A lot of the snow you see in the film was made by machines because when they filmed it, it was one of the warmest winters in recent years.

"what happened to the money" ... and I can forsee the Fargo show being viewed sometime in the future. A great show :)

Frances McDormand won an academy award for this

I find Macy so difficult to watch in this-cause he's so good. I mean, his character is so utterly pathetic and cringey, and Macy nails it.

I'd just like to add a vote for "The Hudsucker Proxy". Like most Coen brothers films, it was a flop initially but it has great style and is an unapologetic love letter to the screwball comedies of the 1940s. It has amazing visual style, great acting and a score (based on music by composer Arum Khachaturian) that is nothing short of amazing. A lot of critics hate The Hudsucker Proxy to this day, but it is one of my favourites.

Ever watch "Dante's Peak?" Little town under a dormant volcano deals with the sudden revelation it may not be so dormant after all. Decent effects and some impressive miniature sets; dialogue's kinda hit and miss at times, but the pyrotechnics are phenomenal. The score fits too. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the eruption. Even though it didn't do well on release, it's since been considered a cult favorite and a "mostly accurate" portrayal of a volcanic eruption.

I love the Jose Feliciano cameo

Dude, before I even get into this video - it looks like you HAVEN'T seen their Raising Arizona. WHAAAAAAT? You really need to add that one to your queue, stat. Only one of the funniest damn movies ever.