The Lundegaard Factor


Apologies for such a slow start, but it's been one of those days...and I'm still catching up.

The big news around bloglandia is the Senate hearing re: Team Bush breaking the law...and I might have something to say about it in a bit, but for the moment I'd like to stroll down Memory Lane, if only because Friday night I came upon Fargo while I was cooking up dinner.

Having spent a lot of time in the Upper Midwest (10 years), I can attest to some degree of accuracy with the accents, though, to be fair, they were a bit over the top at times...but that wasn't what caught me. No, what I kept noticing was the degree of similarity between character Jerry Lundegaard (played by William Macy) and a certain Smirk-Chimp-in-Chief. Damn if they weren't at least cut from the same cloth, if not virtual clones. For example:

Jerry looks up and freezes, mouth hanging open, brow knit
with worry.

Marge sticks her head in the door.

MARGE
Mr. Lundegaard? Sorry to bother
you again. Can I come in?

She starts to enter.

JERRY
Yah, no, I'm kinda - I'm kinda
busy -

MARGE
I unnerstand. I'll keep it real
short, then. I'm on my way out
of town, but I was just - Do you
mind if I sit down? I'm carrying
a bit of a load here.

JERRY
No, I -

But she is already sitting into the chair opposite with a
sigh of relieved weight.

MARGE
Yah, it's this vehicle I asked you
about yesterday. I was just
wondering -

JERRY
Yah, like I told ya, we haven't had
any vehicles go missing.

MARGE
Okay, are you sure, cause, I mean,
how do you know? Because, see,
the crime I'm investigating, the
perpetrators were driving a car
with dealer plates. And they
called someone who works here, so
it'd be quite a coincidence if
they weren't, ya know, connected.

JERRY
Yah, I see.

MARGE
So how do you - have you done any
kind of inventory recently?

JERRY
The car's not from our lot, ma'am.

MARGE
but do you know that for sure
without -

JERRY
Well, I would know. I'm the
Executive Sales Manager.

MARGE
Yah, but -

JERRY
We run a pretty tight ship here.

MARGE
I know, but - well, how do you
establish that, sir? Are the
cars, uh, counted daily or what
kind of -

JERRY
Ma'am, I answered your question.

There is a silent beat.

MARGE
... I'm sorry, sir?

JERRY
Ma'am, I answered your question.
I answered the darn - I'm
cooperating here, and I...

MARGE
Sir, you have no call to get
snippy with me. I'm just doin'
my job here.

JERRY
I'm not, uh, I'm not arguin' here.
I'm cooperating... There's no, uh
- we're doin' all we can...

He trails off into silence.

MARGE
Sir, could I talk to Mr. Gustafson?

Jerry stares at her.

MARGE
... Mr. Lundegaard?

Jerry explodes:

JERRY
Well, heck, if you wanna, if you
wanna play games here! I'm
workin' with ya on this thing, but
I...

He is getting angrily off his feet.

JERRY
Okay, I'll do a damned lot count!

MARGE
Sir? Right now?

JERRY
Sure right now! You're darned
tootin'!

He is yanking his parka from a hook behind the opened door
and grabbing a pair of galoshes.

JERRY
... If it's so damned imporant
to ya!

MARGE
I'm sorry, sir, I -

Jerry has the parka slung over one arm and the galoshes
pinched in his hand.

JERRY
Aw, what the Christ!

He stamps out the door.

Check out the script for a number of other examples: there's a father figure (in the movie, an in-law, but still) who's FAR more successful; Macy's character is busily engaged in fairly large scale theft (some $320,000 dollars worth), the kidnapping, i.e., again, breaking the law with Lundegaard's tacit assumption that all will work out/it's for a higher good (money for his investment)...finally, everything's wrapped up in a heartland vista that differs from the redneck south mostly in terms of climate only.

Watching the movie again was a REAL eye-opener for me. I especially like the end, when Lundegaard's nabbed trying to sneak out the bathroom window of a cheap motor inn. Crying like a baby, he's cuffed by the locals.

I love happy endings...