History Main / Fargo

* ''Series/{{Fargo}}'', the series based on the film. [[spoiler: Also a StealthSequel to the film.]]

* ''Series/{{Fargo}}'', The series based on the film. [[spoiler: Also a StealthSequel to the film.]]

[[redirect:Film/{{Fargo}}]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_fargo_3473_4678.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Ya... just another day in Brainerd, Margie.]]

->''"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. [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil Well. I just don't understand it.]]"''
-->--'''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmoYpJIUWhY Marge Gunderson]]'''

->''"Aw, Jeez."''
-->-- '''[[RunningGag Repeated Line]]'''

''{{Fargo}}'' is a critically acclaimed [[BlackComedy dark comedy]] from 1996, written and directed by TheCoenBrothers. It stars Frances [=McDormand=], WilliamHMacy, and SteveBuscemi. 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. Popularised, (or demonised) 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. You betcha.

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!!This film contains examples of:

* ActionMom: Marge is a pregnant example, who will presumably become the more typical variety.
* AlcoholIsPoison: 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...
* AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame: Fargo is more widely known as "That movie where a guy gets fed to a woodchipper."
* AloneWithThePsycho: [[spoiler: Poor Mrs. Lundegaard]] doesn't survive her time with Grimsrud.
* AmericanAccents: This, ya, is where most of America gets their stereotype of the Upper Midwest, ya. Ya? ''Y-aaaa''.
* AntiVillain: Jerry. He's not a villain, he's just kind of stupid. He even forgets how the kidnapping will ''affect his teenage son''.
* AwesomeByAnalysis: Marge figures out exactly what happened the night before after a few minutes of walking around the crime scene the next morning.
-->'''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 [[MemeticMutation 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".
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Shep Proudfoot.
* AxCrazy: Gaear Grimsrud, quite literally at one point.
* BadassLongcoat: Grimsrud has one.
* BadLiar: Jerry Lundegaard is terrible at making up excuses on the spot, and flees from Marge the second time she tries to question him.
* BatmanGambit: GoneHorriblyWrong.
* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: This is a purely fictional story...
* BerserkButton: In RealLife, 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.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Gaear Fucking Grimsrud.
* [[BewareTheSillyOnes Beware the Minnesota Nice Ones:]] Marge.
* BigEater: To be fair, Marge is eating for two.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Despite the very ambiguous tale, the motivations of the characters are pretty clear cut throughout.
* BlackComedy
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Grimsrud certainly is.
* BookEnds: The plot begins and ends with someone running across snow and getting shot.
* BribeBackfire: The exact moment when things go from bad to worse.
* BrokenRecord: To accentuate the [[ObfuscatingStupidity simplicity]] of the characters, a lot of the dialogue is formed with this trope in mind.
* TheCameo: BruceCampbell as the man in the soap opera Grimsrud watches.
* CluelessDeputy: 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.
-->''"Not sure I agree with ya 100% percent on your police-work there, Lou..."''
* ClusterFBomb: Showalter, but he has good reason.
** Also, Proudfoot about halfway through the movie.
* CoitusUninterruptus: One of the most distressing examples you'll ever watch in a film.
* TheConsigliere: Stan Grossman.
* DeadpanSnarker: She's extremely MinnesotaNice and indirect about it, but Margie has her moments.
** Carl as well though being played by Steve Buscemi tends to involve this.
* DefectiveDetective: Averted. Marge is a HappilyMarried, 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 persuing every option and never giving up the hope of finding another clue.
* DidntSeeThatComing: Essentially, the entire plot.
** Especially the aforementioned CoitusUninterruptus.
* DumbBlonde: 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.
* DissonantSerenity: 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 [[DramaBomb 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.
* FakeNationality: Despite the Japanese name, the guy who plays Mike Yanagita is Steve Park--a Korean-American.
* FatalFlaw: {{Greed}} is a common one, while [[spoiler:Gaear's]] is probably trigger-happiness ({{Wrath}}) and [[spoiler:Wade's]] is {{control freak}}ery ({{Pride}}).
* FawltyTowersPlot: [[{{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.
* {{Foil}}: Mike for Jerry.
* GenreBusting: A neo-noir/thriller/black comedy, and that's just to start.
** Unless you remember ''BloodSimple''.
* GentleGiant: Subverted very hard with Grimsrud.
* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: Marge, as seen in the page quote.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: 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.
* GoshDangItToHeck: The Lundegaards and the Gundersons, and apparently the rest of the town - see PrecisionFStrike. Contrasts nicely with the [[ClusterFBomb Cluster F Bombing]] of ThoseTwoBadGuys.
* {{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.
-->'''Stan:''' We're not cattle-trading here, Wade.
* HappilyEverAfter: Marge, Norm and their baby, presumably.
* HappilyMarried: Marge and Norm "Son-of-a" Gunderson. Sure, they're a bit boring, but they most certainly love each other.
* HeyItsThatGuy: Sharp eyes will recognize BruceCampbell as one of the soap actors. In reality, that was indeed the soap Bruce Campbell was a character on.
* IdiotBall: 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.
* IHaveYourWife: Just as we planned.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Jerry Lundegaard.
* InMediasRes: 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.
* InstantDeathBullet: Averted mostly, except for that one cop. (To be fair, [[BoomHeadshot he got shot in the top of the head]].)
* ItGotWorse: 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.
* KarmicDeath: [[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''.]]
* KillEmAll
* LeaveNoWitnesses
* MinnesotaNice: Probably the definitive film example.
* MoodWhiplash: 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]]. (Warning for mild spoilers).
* MotorMouth: Carl Showalter.
** "I don't have to talk, either, man! See how you like it. Just total [[strike:givlom]]fricassee'n silence. Two can play at that game, smart guy. We'll just [[BrokenRecord see how you like it]]. [[BrokenRecord Total silence]]."
** This led to an in-joke, with Buscemi constantly being told to shut up in his later film with the Coens, ''{{The Big Lebowski}}''.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Given to Showalter by Shep Proudfoot.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: Showalter shoots [[spoiler: Wade]] about eight times in their shootout on top of the parking garage.
* NonindicativeName: 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.
* NoodleIncident: 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.
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: "I'd be very surprised if our suspect was from Brainerd."
* ObnoxiousInLaws: Wade is a textbook example.
* OneSceneWonder: Mike Yanagita. Good God.
* ParkingGarage: Where Gustafson goes to drop off the ransom money. It doesn't end well for him.
* PhraseCatcher: "Oh, he was a little guy... Kinda funny lookin'."
* PlethoraOfMistakes
* PregnantBadass: Marge might be the foremost example in cinema.
-->(''Marge, casing the crime scene, bends over'')
-->'''Lou''': You see somethin', Marge?
-->'''Marge''': No, I think I'm gonna barf!
* PrecisionFStrike: Jerry's customer is visibly shocked at himself, and Jerry literally hangs his head in shame.
-->'''Irate Customer:''' You lied to me, Mr. Lundegaard. You're a bald -faced liar, a... a ''fucking'' liar!
* {{Pride}}: Perhaps the [[IncrediblyLamePun driving force]] behind everything a certain Mr. Lundegaard does. His father-in-law, a certain Mr. Gustafson is similar.
* PsychoForHire: Gaear Grimsrud.
* TheQuietOne: Grimsrud, [[AxCrazy though for good reason]].
* RapeAsDrama: It's heavily implied Grimsrud raped and killed Mrs. Lundegaard, {{foreshadowed}} by his lustful gazes at her earlier in the film.
** [[FridgeHorror She wouldn't stop shrieking...]]
* RealitySubtext: Frances [=McDormand=] was actually pregnant during the filming.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Grimsrud is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome
-->'''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. [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil Well, I just don't understand it.]]
* SceneryPorn: You'd be surprised how beautiful a frozen wasteland can be.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: For Jerry at least.
* ASimplePlan
* SmarterThanYouLook: Marge may come across as a dumb country hick, but she's a very gifted detective and easily the smartest character in the movie.
* SnowMeansDeath: Occasionally, said snow is covered in blood.
* SpoiledSweet: Jerry's wife comes from an exorbitantly wealthy family, but she still acted like the sweetest passive mother ever, complete with pink sweater.
* StalkerWithACrush: [[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".
* StupidCrooks: 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...
* StupidEvil: 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 PlethoraOfMistakes by not putting the correct tags on the car.
* SuspectIsHatless:
** 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.
--->"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...]]
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Showalter and Grimsrud.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Grimsrud is fond of flapjacks.
* TrickDialogue: Wade and Jerry, practicing their words.
* TheUnfettered: Grimsrud.
* VerbalTic:
** 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?"
* VillainousBreakdown:
** Jerry has one when he's arrested in Bismarck.
** Jerry also has several minor ones over the course of the movie, culminating in the final one when he's arrested. It demonstrates what an ultimately pathetic and inadequate man he is, and how far out of his depth he's gotten himself.
* VomitingCop: Averted. Would've been justified if she had followed through, as pregnancy and gruesome death combined is a pretty powerful justification.
* WackyCravings: Averted. Marge eats pretty normal food. She just eats a lot of it.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Jerry isn't very good at it, but that doesn't stop him from giving it the old college try.

----
'''Yah!'''

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Inverted--in this case, it's good who cannot comprehend evil, as evidenced in the page quote.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fargo_3473.jpg
[[caption-width:500:Ya... just another day in Brainerd, Margie.]]

'''This film contains examples of:'''

* FridgeBrilliance: Marge's meeting in the city with her old classmate Mike. At first the scene seems extraneous, but when Marge learns the truth behind Mike's dialogue the next day, during a phone call from her friend in Brainerd, she has the most subtle EurekaMoment and is able to look at Jerry in a different way. Noted in [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20010405/REVIEWS08/104050301/1023 Ebert's second review]] of the movie.

* StalkerWithACrush: Poor ol' [[spoiler: Mike Yanagita]].
** Until you find out he 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". {{Squick}}.
* StupidCrooks: 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...

* SuspectIsHatless: 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.
-->"Oh, he wasn't circumcised."

* VerbalTic: Jeez, ja?
** Also, the Swedish Grimsrud is also unable to grasp the phrase "pancake house", referring to it as a "pancakes house."

* VillainousBreakdown: Jerry has one when he's arrested in Bismarck.

'''Yah!'''
<<|{{Film}}|>>

* DeadpanSnarker: She's extremely Minnesota nice and indirect about it, but Margie has her moments.

* FawltyTowersPlot: 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.

-->--'''Marge Gunderson'''

* [[BewareTheSillyOnes Beware the Minnesota Nice Ones:]] Marge

* MoodWhiplash: Just watch [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu5McR-bPpU this scene]]. (Warning for mild spoilers).

* BlackComedy: The film has such a pitch black sense of humor that [[YourMileageMayVary some]] will wonder where the comedy is.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Grimsrud is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome and the embodiment of the LawfulGood trope.

** HeyItsThatGuy: Sharp eyes will recognize BruceCampbell as one of the soap actors. In reality, that was indeed the soap Bruce Campbell was a character on.

''{{Fargo}}'' is a critically acclaimed [[BlackComedy dark comedy]] from 1996, written and directed by TheCoenBrothers. It stars Frances [=McDormand=], WilliamHMacy, and SteveBuscemi. 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.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Grimsrud is fond of pancakes.

* JerkAss: Wade Gustafson.