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{{work|wppage=Fargo (1996 film)}}
[[File:rsz_fargo_3473_4678.jpg|frame|Ya... just another day in Brainerd, Margie.]]
 
{{quote|''"And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. [[Good Cannot Comprehend Evil|Well. I just don't understand it.]]"''|'''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}vmoYpJIUWhY Marge Gunderson]'''}}▼
 
▲{{quote|''"And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. [[Good Cannot Comprehend Evil|Well. I just don't understand it.]]"''|'''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmoYpJIUWhY Marge Gunderson]'''}}
 
{{quote|''"Aw, Jeez."''|'''[[Running Gag|Repeated Line]]'''}}
 
''[[Fargo]]'' is a critically acclaimed [[Black Comedy|dark comedy]] from 1996, written and directed by [[The Coen Brothers]]. It stars Frances McDormand, [[William H. Macy]], and [[Steve Buscemi]]. Taking place in the Midwest circa 1987, the plot concerns Jerry Lundegaard (Macy), a bankrupt car salesman who stages the kidnapping of his wife in order to cheat the ransom out of her wealthy father. But then things go wrong. McDormand won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as pregnant police officer Marge Gunderson.
 
Famous for having almost none of the plot take place in Fargo. It instead largely takes place in Brainerd, Minnesota, but apparently that wouldn't make as good a title for the film. PopularisedPopularized, (or demoniseddemonized) the Minnesota accent, with its sing song Scandinavian influences and northern twang. Super. Pronounced SOOPER.
 
Also famous for the urban legend about a Japanese tourist freezing to death while searching for the treasure that Buscemi's character hides in the film, itself adapted into a 2014 film, ''[[Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter]]''. You betcha.
 
''Fargo'' was added to the [[National Film Registry]] in 2006.
----
=== This film contains examples of: ===
 
{{tropelist}}
* [[Action Mom]]: Marge is a pregnant example, who will presumably become the more typical variety.
* [[Alcohol Is Poison]]: A variation of this is averted. Marge Gunderson drinks a ''lot'' of coffee, though nobody pulls her up for being seven months pregnant at any point. Hell, people ''buy'' it for her...
* [[All There Is to Know About "The Crying Game"]]: Fargo is more widely known as "That movie where a guy gets fed to a woodchipper."
* [[Alone Withwith the Psycho]]: {{spoiler|Poor Mrs. Lundegaard}} doesn't survive her time with Grimsrud.
* [[American Accents]]: This, ya, is where most of America gets their stereotype of the Upper Midwest, ya. Ya? ''Y-aaaa''.
* [[Anti-Villain]]: Jerry. He's not a villain, he's just kind of stupid. He even forgets how the kidnapping will ''affect his teenage son''.
* [[Awesome By Analysis]]: Marge figures out exactly what happened the night before after a few minutes of walking around the crime scene the next morning.
{{quote| '''Marge''': OK, so we got a trooper pulls someone over, we got a shooting, these folks drive by, there's a high-speed pursuit, ends here [[Memetic Mutation|and then this execution-type deal.]] }}
** Of course, the fact that the prints were fresh and the bodies were left out in the open makes this kind of obvious...
** Not so obvious as figuring out that the officer was making out in his book "DLR" was "dealer".
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* [[Badass Longcoat]]: Grimsrud has one.
* [[Bad Liar]]: Jerry Lundegaard is terrible at making up excuses on the spot, and flees from Marge the second time she tries to question him.
* [[Batman Gambit]]: [[Gone Horribly Wrong]].▼
* [[Based on a Great Big Lie]]: This is a purely fictional story...
▲* [[Batman Gambit]]: [[Gone Horribly Wrong]].
* [[Berserk Button]]: In [[Real Life]], do '''''NOT''''', when finding out the person you're talking to is from Fargo, say "Oh, '''''JA'''''?" in an exaggerated tone, lest you want to be beaten.
* [[Beware the Quiet Ones]]: Gaear Fucking Grimsrud.▼
* [[Beware the Silly Ones|Beware the Minnesota Nice Ones:]] Marge.
▲* [[Beware the Quiet Ones]]: Gaear Fucking Grimsrud.
* [[Big Eater]]: To be fair, Marge is eating for two.
* [[Black and White Morality]]: Despite the very ambiguous tale, the motivations of the characters are pretty clear cut throughout.
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* [[Broken Record]]: To accentuate the [[Obfuscating Stupidity|simplicity]] of the characters, a lot of the dialogue is formed with this trope in mind.
* [[The Cameo]]: [[Bruce Campbell]] as the man in the soap opera Grimsrud watches.
* [[Clueless Deputy]]: Lou.
** Wonderfully averted with Marge Gunderson. She appears clueless at first, but turns out to be easily the most competent and intelligent character involved in the movie's plot.
{{quote| ''"Not sure I agree with ya 100% percent on your police-work there, Lou..."''}}
* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: Showalter, but he has good reason.
** Also, Proudfoot about halfway through the movie.
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** Carl as well though being played by Steve Buscemi tends to involve this.
* [[Defective Detective]]: Averted. Marge is a [[Happily Married]], generally well-adjusted person in addition to being an excellent cop. In fact, she's the only major character in the movie who is good at what they do.
* [[Determinator]]: For a pregnant policewoman Marge certainly does take a lot of risks, doggedly persuingpursuing every option and never giving up the hope of finding another clue.
* [[Didn't See That Coming]]: Essentially, the entire plot.
** Especially the aforementioned [[Coitus Uninterruptus]].
* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Practically everything that Grimsrud does. It's as if nothing can shock him.▼
** Hilariously averted when he's watching a soap opera on TV, when one of the characters [[Drama Bomb|dramatically proclaims]] to be pregnant and having the other character's baby he drops his fork in shock, but when Showalter comes crashing in through the door covered in blood he's completely unfazed.▼
* [[Dumb Blonde]]: The prostitutes Marge talks to, arguably one of the best scenes in the film.
** One of which was Frances McDormand's "voice" coach for this movie. Think she did a pretty good job? Oh, you betcha, yaaa.
▲* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Practically everything that Grimsrud does. It's as if nothing can shock him.
▲** Hilariously averted when he's watching a soap opera on TV, when one of the characters [[Drama Bomb|dramatically proclaims]] to be pregnant and having the other character's baby he drops his fork in shock, but when Showalter comes crashing in through the door covered in blood he's completely unfazed.
* [[Fake Nationality]]: Despite the Japanese name, the guy who plays Mike Yanagita is Steve Park--a Korean-American.
* [[Fatal Flaw]]: [[Greed]] is a common one, while {{spoiler|Gaear's}} is probably trigger-happiness ([[Wrath]]) and {{spoiler|Wade's}} is [[Control Freak|control freakery]] ([[Pride]]).
* [[Fawlty Towers Plot]]: [[Deconstruction|Deconstructed]]. Jerry heaps so many falsehoods together, and involves so many people in his scheme, it's actually surprising he managed to keep it going as long as he did. However, true to the trope, it all spirals wildly out of control, and by the time the body count starts coming into play, Jerry knows he's done for.
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* [[Good Cannot Comprehend Evil]]: Marge, as seen in the page quote.
* [[Good People Have Good Sex]]: Showalter and Grimsrud have a good time with some hookers, and then sit up in bed watching the TV without any conversation.
* [[Gorn]]: {{spoiler|Just look at how bloody the snow is as Grimsrud feeds Showalter through the woodchipper}}. Also the amount of blood that comes out of the head of the state trooper.
** Not to mention {{spoiler|Showalter's}} gushing jaw, and his horrendously inept attempts to patch up the wound.
* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: The Lundegaards and the Gundersons, and apparently the rest of the town - see [[Precision F-Strike]]. Contrasts nicely with the [[Cluster F-Bomb|Cluster F Bombing]] of [[Those Two Bad Guys]].
* [[Greed]]: ''Everyone''. Showalter argues with his partner over a couple of hundred bucks when he's already {{spoiler|stolen a million, and it gets him an axe to the head}}. Even Wade haggles over the price on his daughter's head.
{{quote| '''Stan:''' We're not cattle-trading here, Wade.}}
* [[Happily Ever After]]: Marge, Norm and their baby, presumably.
* [[Happily Married]]: Marge and Norm "Son-of-a" Gunderson. Sure, they're a bit boring, but they most certainly love each other.
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Sharp eyes will recognize [[Bruce Campbell]] as one of the soap actors. In reality, that was indeed the soap Bruce Campbell was a character on.
* [[Idiot Ball]]: Like any good Coen Brothers movie, a lot of characters rely on this.
** Justified, however, in that the movie's main theme is that greed and desperation make people do really stupid things.
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* [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]: Jerry Lundegaard.
* [[In Medias Res]]: A variation. The movie opens with Jerry bringing the tan Sierra to Fargo, North Dakota which sets off the chain of events we see in the movie. Why exactly he is resorting to the measures he's currently taking is never spoken of and we never find out just what kind of trouble he was in before his trip to Fargo.
* [[Instant Death Bullet]]: Averted mostly, except for that one cop. (Toto be fair, [[Boom! Headshot!|he got shot in the top of the head]].).
* [[It Got Worse]]: You wouldn't believe how much worse it got.
* [[Jerkass]]: Wade Gustafson. Even rubbing in Jerry's face that his wife and son won't have to worry about their future.
* [[Karmic Death]]: {{spoiler|Lesson One: Trust your son-in-law. You are not John Wayne. Lesson Two: It's generally prudent not to piss off a guy who rarely speaks, and has killed four people ''that you know of''.}}.
* [[Kill'Em All]]
* [[Leave No Witnesses]]
* [[Minnesota Nice]]: Probably the definitive film example.
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: The movie turns on a dime between small-town quirkiness that's played for laughs and coldly brutal violence that decidedly ''isn't''. Just watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu5McR-bPpU this scene]. (Warningwarning for mild spoilers).
* [[Motor Mouth]]: Carl Showalter.
** "I don't have to talk, either, man! See how you like it. Just total <s>givlom</s>fricassee'n silence. Two can play at that game, smart guy. We'll just [[Broken Record|see how you like it]]. [[Broken Record|Total silence]]."
* [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]: Given to Showalter by Shep Proudfoot.
* [[No Kill Like Overkill]]: Showalter shoots {{spoiler|Wade}} about eight times in their shootout on top of the parking garage.
* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: There are only a handful of scenes that take place in Fargo, North Dakota (or in fact, North Dakota ''at all''). Most of the action takes place in the town of Brainerd, Minnesota which is over 150 miles away.
* [[Noodle Incident]]: The $325,000 GMAC loan for which Jerry forged the VIN numbers of nonexistent cars. The viewer never finds out for what purpose Jerry got the money, or how he (presumably) lost it. Arguably, Jerry likely intended that part of the ransom money would be used to pay back the loan and get the persistent Reilly Diefenbach off his neck.
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* [[Phrase Catcher]]: "Oh, he was a little guy... Kinda funny lookin'."
* [[Plethora of Mistakes]]
* [[Pregnant Badass]]: Marge might be the foremost example in cinema.▼
{{quote| (''Marge, casing the crime scene, bends over'')<br />▼
'''Lou''': You see somethin', Marge?<br />▼
'''Marge''': No, I think I'm gonna barf! }}▼
* [[Precision F-Strike]]: Jerry's customer is visibly shocked at himself, and Jerry literally hangs his head in shame.
{{quote| '''Irate Customer:''' You lied to me, Mr. Lundegaard. You're a bald -faced liar, a... a ''fucking'' liar!}}
▲* [[Pregnant Badass]]: Marge might be the foremost example in cinema.
▲{{quote| (''Marge, casing the crime scene, bends over'')<br />
▲'''Lou''': You see somethin', Marge?<br />
▲'''Marge''': No, I think I'm gonna barf! }}
* [[Pride]]: Perhaps the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|driving force]] behind everything a certain Mr. Lundegaard does. His father-in-law, a certain Mr. Gustafson is similar.
* [[Psycho for Hire]]: Gaear Grimsrud.
* [[The Quiet One]]: Grimsrud, [[Ax Crazy|though for good reason]].
* [[Rape Asas Drama]]: It's heavily implied Grimsrud raped and killed Mrs. Lundegaard, [[Fore Shadowed]] by his lustful gazes at her earlier in the film.
** [[Fridge Horror|She wouldn't stop shrieking...]]
* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: toTo Grimsrud is a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]. ▼
* [[Reality Subtext]]: Frances McDormand was actually pregnant during the filming.
{{quote| '''Marge:''' So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. [[Good Cannot Comprehend Evil|Well, I just don't understand it.]]}}▼
▲* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] to Grimsrud is a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]
▲{{quote| '''Marge:''' So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. [[Good Cannot Comprehend Evil|Well, I just don't understand it.]]}}
* [[Scenery Porn]]: You'd be surprised how beautiful a frozen wasteland can be.
* [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]]: For Jerry at least.
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* [[Snow Means Death]]: Occasionally, said snow is covered in blood.
* [[Spoiled Sweet]]: Jerry's wife comes from an exorbitantly wealthy family, but she still acted like the sweetest passive mother ever, complete with pink sweater.
* [[Stalker Withwith a Crush]]: {{spoiler|Mike Yanagita}} stalked a girl so much she had to move away, and he invented a story that he ''married'' her and she ''died'' - then hits on a ''pregnant, married police officer'', because he needs a new "object of affection".
* [[Stupid Crooks]]: Jerry's scheme to stage his wife's kidnapping in order to swindle money from his wealthy father-in-law go horribly awry once the two criminals he hired for the job are pulled over by a state trooper shortly after the kidnapping, who ends up getting killed along with two witnesses, which only complicates things and calls more attention to their actions. Then more things happen that don't go according to plan, and more people die as a consequence to this, including {{spoiler|Jerry's wife.}}, which also leads us to...
* [[Stupid Evil]]: Both kidnappers, but especially Showalter, who antagonizes Grimsrud over a few hundred dollars when leaving quietly would have landed him almost a million. Also setting off the entire [[Plethora of Mistakes]] by not putting the correct tags on the car.
* [[Suspect Is Hatless]]:
** The best description people can come up with for Showalter is that he's "kinda funny looking" - no mention of hair/eye color, height or anything. Grimsrud gets even less.
{{quote| "Oh, he wasn't circumcised."}}
** Not only that, but the Brainerd PD {{spoiler|never gets to see what Carl looks like, since all that is left of him is a foot}}...}}
* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: Showalter and Grimsrud.
* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Grimsrud is fond of flapjacks.
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* [[Verbal Tic]]:
** Jeez, ja?
** The Swedish Grimsrud is also unable to grasp the phrase "pancake house", referring to it as a "pancakes house.".
*** The Swedish Peter Stormare thought that that was a typo and said the line as, "Where is the pancake house?" He was astonished when the Coens told him that he was ''supposed'' to say, "Where is pancakes house?"
* [[Villainous Breakdown]]:
Line 148 ⟶ 144:
 
{{reflist}}
{{AFI's 100 Years 100 Heroes and Villains}}
[[Category:Roger Ebert Great Movies List]]▼
{{AFI's 100 Years 100 Laughs}}
[[Category:National Film Registry]]▼
[[Category:Academy Award{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Academy Award]]
[[Category:BAFTA Award (Film)]]
[[Category:The Coen Brothers]]
▲[[Category:NationalCannes Film RegistryFestival]]
[[Category:The Eighties]]
▲[[Category:Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:FargoNational Film Registry]]
▲[[Category:Roger Ebert Great Movies List]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]
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