Maybe I have to watch this again, with the way it seems to be reviewed... It just didn't connect with me. It's a decently done neo-noir, but Baldwin was soo unlikeable in it, that I had a hard time getting engaged. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood at the time...

Such an unforgettable film with Alec Baldwin playing one of the more unstable characters that you will ever see in film.

Definitely a classic Alec Baldwin film. Good script writing!

The cast makes more of it than it deserves.

Baldwin's unhinged performance is the best thing about this movie. Such crazed energy from a villain is rare in these types of thrillers.

I don't need to say anything about this. I think this is a dark comedy.... I don't need to say it because it's a decent movie it wasn't fantastic but it was all right.

I'm surprised the critics like this movie more than the audience. Probably because it was ahead of it's time. Not many people saw it when it came out and one might say that it's aged poorly. However I can watch this movie and appreciate it for what it is. An excellent crime drama with a little bit of comedy sprinkled in for good measure. It's almost like something Tarantino might have done. Underrated IMO

Despite not all the jokes landing, Miami Blues boasts one of Alec Baldwin's most unhinged performances comparable to that of a modern-day Robin Hood in this neo-noir cat-and-mouse chase thriller all perceived through the lens of a disarmingly off-kilter dark comedy. It balances its mean streak with sunlit hard-boiled thrills leaving Miami Blues as this perfect encapsulation of upsetting the norm that hinges primarily on the brilliance of its leading cast, which would otherwise appear weightless.

Miami Blues, solid storyline and riveting performances from Leigh and Baldwin is satisfying to watch.

Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, and Jennifer Jason Leigh I wasn't really a fan of this one there should've been more thrills with the real cop and the fake one chasing each other it does try to have some heavy moments too but I did find Junior to be not that likable going around and beating people up impersonating an officer it's just hard to find any redeeming qualities about him with Leigh though I did admire her passion for wanting that wholesome family lifestyle having a house with a white pickett fence etc., it's too bad Junior chose to lie to her continuously Ward I actually do enjoy the most as Hoke given he has to track down this ex-con even if it's against police procedure the three actors are terrific don't get me wrong yet I really wanted more excitement from the thrill of the pursuit oh well...

Quite unlike most movies I’ve seen. A young Alec Baldwin looks like Ryan Gosling. I’ve never heard of the movie until last night and thoroughly enjoyed it

You know there's a guy out there writing all this down as a guide. This guy is stupid AND crazy.

Frederick J. Frenger Jr. (Alec Baldwin), a violent sociopath recently released from a California prison, starts a new life in Miami. Before leaving the airport, he steals luggage and kills a Hare Krishna after breaking his finger. Junior checks into a hotel and hooks up with Susie Waggoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a naive prostitute who is a student at a community college. They become romantically involved and take a house together, with Susie blissfully unaware of Junior's criminal activities and harboring fantasies of living happily ever after. An investigation of the Hare Krishna murder leads grizzled policeman Sgt. Hoke Moseley (Fred Ward) to come knocking on their door. Moseley shares a home-cooked dinner with the couple, upon Susie's suggestion, and plays it cool while seemingly indicating to Junior that he's on to him. He overtly suspects Junior has been in prison and wants him to come to the police station for a lineup. Junior goes to Moseley's home the next day, assaults him, and steals his gun, badge and dentures. Later, while Susie is taking a bath and writing a haiku, Junior decides to break into a nearby apartment. He steals an IMI Desert Eagle handgun and a steak. Junior begins using the badge, demanding bribes as rewards after breaking up robberies, only to keep the loot for himself. Sooner or later Moseley and the law will catch up with him... This neo-noir black comedy crime film is based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. In my opinion the storyline is a bit wobbly and quite simple, the scene structure a bit wobbly and the general 80s/90s vibe feels a bit outdated when seeing the film today. Alec Baldwin is however excellent as Junior, but that´s not enough to be honest. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward are fine in their roles, but they still ends up more like backdrops to Baldwin´s psychopathic Frederick J. Frenger Jr. character. The issue is that non of the characters are that easy to identify with, but their flaws gives them humanity which creates a more "real" feeling to the film. But, "Miami Blues" becomes an average black comedy crime thriller when re-seeing it today.

This is a very fun underrated dark comedy.

Story/Screenplay: (2/5) The base story had potential, but it was capsized by too many goofy story events to ignore. Duration/Tempo: (4/5) At 1 hour and 37 minutes, it's a short movie that felt the same. Nicely done. Cast & Crew: (4/5) Jennifer Jason Leigh was excellent. The performances by Fred Ward and Alec Baldwin suffered a bit due to a flawed screenplay, but both were still good. Summary: (3/5) The cast was very good, the film went by quickly, but the story was poor to mediocre, tending towards poor. A borderline thumbs down.

Alec Baldwin seems different, younger, and, well, more psychotic, but it is possible to see his later comic swagger buried deep inside his character here, an ex-con on a murderous rampage who shacks up in an illusion of domestic tranquillity with hooker Jennifer Jason Leigh. The film is an adaptation of Charles Willeford's book (featuring homicide detective Hoke Moseley, played screwily by Fred Ward here), but as Jonathan Rosenbaum has pointed out, it also owes something to Godard's Breathless, a film which also saw a man-on-the-run make the mistakes that end his life because of love. Miami Blues is no Breathless but it does have a certain unpredictable charm - perhaps this is due to the inordinate amount of odd details. For example, Moseley's dentures play a prominent supporting role. Perhaps though the central theme is about the power of cultural "ideals" to lend stability to a life that is falling apart? Although they may be only illusions, Baldwin seems to want badly to experience a domestic partnership and a house with a white picket fence. He also seems to believe that cops have power and command respect (at least this is how he acts when adopting the role, illicitly) even when Ward's cop Moseley is doing it tough, living hand-to-mouth in a dingy hotel room. All told, this is a film that looks like any number of early 90s thrillers but is far more eccentric, contains superior acting, and isn't headed anyplace you expect.

Immoral opportunist; which is a role Alec has become known for. A refreshing performance by JJ Leigh which really sells the story.

Alec Baldwin kills a cop and then poses as him in this thriller that entertains with its strange characters.

Baldwin's unhinged performance is the best thing about this movie. Such crazed energy from a villain is rare in these types of thrillers.

As far as crime movies go, finding the perfect balance between comedy, suspense, and consequence is a massively difficult task - I can think of few other genres that mostly choose to play it straight, as injecting comic life into a martini of violence can lead to caper territory (too light), or can shove you into concluding that the director has a sick mind for joking around during times of brutality. Only a rare number of filmmakers can find humor in thuggish buffoonery without seeming like a half-depraved artist. One such filmmaker is George Armitage, the writer/director of 1990's minor but cinematically interesting "Miami Blues," which is a black comedy or a quirky crime thriller depending on where you're sitting. Finding a cogent middle-ground between barbarity and breeziness, it conjures up a world where criminals are dupes, their girls unsuspecting, the cops chasing them smiling harlequins unafraid of drinking a beer with a suspect. It's an unprecedented, often charismatic (and often unstable) movie with a heart that thumps like a bass at a jazz show. Its stamina is bewildering. In a role that suits his snaky attractiveness well, Alec Baldwin portrays Frederick Frenger Jr., a savage killer just released from prison. Only minutes after landing in Miami, FL does he, still in the airpot, go back to the old drawing board, stealing an inattentive woman's briefcase and even killing an overzealous Hare Krishna just by twisting his finger back. He isn't the sort to learn from past mistakes; he is a born madman, and doesn't want to shape himself into something he isn't. In other words, he's a dangerous sociopath with a thirst to destruct. To regroup, he checks into a ritzy hotel and is introduced to Susie Waggoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young prostitute sent up to his room by a compliant staff member. Susie is impressionable and easily swayed, and Junior, being a manipulative, sly dog, is a strong presence in comparison to her weak will. Before long, they are romantically involved, soon getting hitched and buying a quaint little house in a sunny, Floridian suburb. But a domestic life doesn't change the fact that Junior is an S.O.B. from hell, and the murder of the Hare Krishna is not something that the law has not been made aware of. Assigned to investigate is Sgt. Hoke Moseley (a lovable Fred Ward), whose relaxed method of solving a case somehow gets him acquainted with Junior and Susie rather quickly. But, being optimistic and foolish, Moseley loses control, his badge unfortunately stolen by the man he's investigating. So begins a crime spree whose spontaneity suggests no problems to Junior, a determined Moseley hot on his tail, the air-headed Susie unaware that her husband is actually a terrible guy. "Miami Blues" is an illusionist's act of a movie, balancing three thoroughly contrasting characters on a two-inch platform and using their distinct personalities as a way to make the story feel consilient and believable. Fortunately, Armitage is a screenwriter who possesses the inherent skill of telling us plenty about his characters by including little, almost invisible quirks about them that, more or less, inform us of their life story. Junior probably grew up as a scoundrel confined to prison, letting sinful thoughts brew incessantly in his head; Susie was a bimbo cheerleader who felt college was the right place to go, turning to prostitution over any other job to support herself simply because her small mind is drawn by money, not respect; Moseley was most likely a friendly jock, a fraternity leader, who stood out to his peers as being a genuinely nice guy. Put these people altogether and you've got a compelling movie, as we're watching individuals, not stereotypes. I can think of no major issues in "Miami Blues" besides its ending, which is bittersweet and not much fitting for a film that takes pride in combining crime and human comedy like a cinematic Olympic gold medalist. Nevertheless, this is a crafty, smart thriller that knows its tone as well as the people involved know the backs of their hands. It's a tightrope walk that doesn't end in a plunge to the death - too bad about its unlucky peers who could never figure out how to be drolly suspenseful without taking things too far.