''Feeling Minnesota'' is a 1996 American

crime comedy film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

written and directed by

Steven Baigelman Steven J. Baigelman is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and film director. He has written the screenplays for the crime dramedy '' Feeling Minnesota'' (1996), the television crime thriller '' Brother's Keeper'' (2002), the biographical drama '' ...

. It stars

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for fo ...

Tuesday Weld Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is an American actress and model. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960. Over t ...

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

, and

Delroy Lindo Delroy George Lindo (born 18 November 1952) is an English-American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as a NAACP Image Award, a Satellite Award, and nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Tony Award, two Critics' C ...

Plot

Ex-stripper Freddie Clayton (

) is marrying her husband Sam (

) to repay a debt owed to nightclub owner Red (

). When Freddie meets Jjaks (

), Sam's brother, they instantly fall in love. Jjaks and Freddie decide to run off together, eventually staying in a motel. After realizing that they do not have any money, Freddie and Jjaks decide to go back and steal some of Sam's money. Sam catches Jjaks in the act and they fight. After escaping, Jjaks returns to the motel, unaware that Sam has been following him. After Jjaks passes out due to the fight, Sam ends up shooting Freddie in the stomach in Jjaks's car, and tries to frame the killing on him by returning Freddie's body to the motel room along with the murder weapon. The next morning, Jjaks awakens, unable to recall anything that happened after his fight with Sam. Seeing Freddie's body in the room along with the gun, he briefly thinks that maybe he killed Freddie. After being tipped off by Sam, the police arrive but Jjaks hastily avoids capture, driving Freddie's body to a remote area in the woods to lay her to rest. All the while, Sam has been watching these events from afar, hoping for Jjaks's arrest. Sam now calls a friend, Detective Ben Costikyan (

), who promptly arrests Jjaks. The trio, along with Costikyan's partner Lloyd (David Alan Smith), drive to where Freddie was supposedly buried. However, upon arrival, they are unable to find her. Angered at Sam for misleading him, Costikyan drives off with Lloyd, leaving the brothers beside the road. Upon returning home, the brothers receive a phone call from the motel manager (

Michael Rispoli Michael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was a contender for the role of Tony Soprano in the HBO television series ''The Sopranos,'' but was ultimately cast as Jackie Aprile, a recurring character in the show’s first season. Ris ...

), who, based on seeing Sam carrying Freddie's body ''into'' the motel room and Jjaks carrying the body ''out of'' the room, wants $50,000 to keep quiet. Jjaks now realizes that Sam was setting him up for Freddie's murder. After another fight, they decide that Jjaks will go to the motel to talk to the manager while Sam will see Red, hoping for a loan. At this point, Red has learned that Sam has been stealing money from him for the past year. Sam ends up shooting and killing Red after a brief skirmish and collects the $50,000 from a safe. Jjaks meets with the motel manager but sees Freddie's necklace on the floor of the manager's apartment. Confused and angry, Jjaks throws the manager outside and threatens to kill him. Suddenly out of nowhere, an alive Freddie walks towards them, calling for Jjaks, who faints. When he revives, she shows Jjaks her bullet wound and tells him that Sam is a bad shot and that someone picked her up from the side of the road where he had left her body. The next morning, Sam calls Jjaks and tells him he got the money. However, after seeing Freddie alive from a nearby diner, he confronts Jjaks and Freddie in the manager's apartment. Sam ends up getting shot when the couple try to defend themselves. Costikyan enters the hotel room and suffocates Sam by holding his hand against his mouth. It turns out that Freddie had called Costikyan after being rescued and used him to help her get the $50,000. A betrayed and wounded Jjaks is left helpless. Some time later, Costikyan is arrested in his underwear inside a hotel, as Freddie had tipped off the cops and left with the money. She and Jjaks have since fallen out, but Jjaks, recalling her dream of being a dancer in Las Vegas, hitchhikes there. When he finds her living her dream, she happily says, "What took you so fucking long?" before they embrace.

Cast

as Jjaks Clayton *

as Sam Clayton *

as Freddie Clayton *

as Red *

as Detective Ben Costikyan *

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...

as Rhonda *

as Nora Clayton * Aaron Michael Metchik as Young Sam Clayton *

as Motel Manager *

Arabella Field Arabella Field (born February 5, 1965) is an American actress and film producer known for her roles in films such as ''Dante's Peak'', '' Feeling Minnesota'', ''Godzilla'', ''National Treasure'', '' Paper Man'' and as Melinda Bitterman in the ...

as Manager's Wife *

John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom '' The Drew Carey ...

as Cop *

Max Perlich Max Perlich (born March 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor. In 1990, Perlich won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the hit indie film '' Drugstore Cowboy'' and was nominated for the same ...

as Desk Clerk * Bill Hermann as Driver * Russel Konstans as Joseph

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gave the film a 14% based on 21 reviews. However,

Siskel & Ebert Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's dea ...

gave the film "two thumbs up."

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released in August 1996 through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. The album received a mixed review from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

reviewer

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

, ending his review with "the overall effect of the whole ''Feeling Minnesota'' juggernaut can't help but make you feel a little 'sick.' "

Track listing

References

External links

* * * {{Danny DeVito 1996 films 1990s crime drama films 1990s black comedy films American crime drama films American black comedy films Films set in Minnesota Films shot in Minnesota 1990s English-language films Films produced by Danny DeVito 1996 directorial debut films 1996 comedy films 1990s American films