So much good here!

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2016)

Fargo is one of the more entertaining movies I think I've ever watched. It's engaging, clever and down right hilarious at times. William H. Macy plays Jerry Lundegaard, a family man and car salesman, with a few schemes up his sleeve. The main being, to have his wife kidnapped so that her wealthy father pays the ransom, where he will pocket half. Along the way he teams up with Carl and Gaear, two of the most hilariously incompetent movie "bad guys" in history. When the plan goes sour Jerry tries desperately to stay out of trouble's way.
The best part of Fargo, is the dark comedy aspect. In part, the movie is a satire of small town life. The irony is that even in the midst of a triple murder / kidnapping investigation, everyone remains so kind and polite, along with a very funny parody of Minnesota accents, and the gut-busting continuous description of Steve Buscemi being "funny looking".
Comedy aside, the Coens, as always, wrote some very impressive symbolism into their screenplay. The first, being the concept that Marge Grunderson, the police chief, is pregnant. This is meant to show that even a pregnant woman, in a small, snow covered town, can't avoid some of the evils of the world. The second example is the side plot with Mike Yanagita. At dinner, Marge believes and fully trusts everything that Mike says only to learn that it was all a lie. The viewer is supposed to learn that maybe Marge is just a little too trusting of people. With that information, Marge goes back to the dealership and confronts Jerry again after she believes that he was lying (which he was). This character development at such a late stage of the movie, is unique but in this case, it works fantastically.
On sheer watch and enjoy-ability, Fargo is a home run. When you work in the deeper level dark comedy and incredible symbolism that the Coen brothers have made famous, you have one of the best movies of the 1990s.