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Credits

Rated: R; Genres: Comedy, Crime, Drama; With: Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy and Frances McDormand
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By Steve Daly
Steve Daly
Steve Daly
Steve Daly is a senior writer at EW, and also author of EW.com's Money Shot column

There's no question that this immaculately envisioned comedy of errors, told largely in close-ups of a dorky, ever-smiling policewoman (Frances McDormand) who unravels a botched kidnapping scheme, was among the year's peak moviegoing wonders. But is Fargo also among the year's best videos? Yes and no. The missteps, delusions, and naivete of the felons involved play out so broadly across the bleak Minnesotan snowscapes that they hold up hilariously on TV screens, even through impulse repeat viewings. But the fine-as-a-flake cinematography slushes up quite a bit on VHS, a format that strains to reproduce such pinprick visual ironies as a teeny tuft of down that undulates juuuust so after a bullet rips a would-be hero's jacket. There, carping's done — now cuddle up with this wickedly tacky comforter and tell yourself, like the Fargo-ites do, Okay, well, real good then! A


Posted Oct 04, 1996
 

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