Albert is a mentally challenged young man: or is he? Whatever the case, he definitely has a gift for catching fish through the ice. The movie is set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (not a small town); which is definitely not the ice fishing capital of the U. S. Minnesota has that title all locked up; but Albert's mom is so possessive that she will not let him go to Minnesota (or anyplace else where he might be tempted to try a few things on his own) to enter the big-buck contests, so he fishes in Wisconsin. (A reviewer praises the film makers for avoiding "You betcha" Minnesota stereotypes. Perhaps that is because there is only one scene, the last, in Minnesota. It shows a large ice-covered lake and a few fishermen, none of whom gets a chance to say, "Okey, dokey".) Anyway, it is his awareness that he is not where the big tourneys are that led me to question how mentally challenged he really is. If he were truly as challenged as some would have us believe, he would probably settle for the $23,000 prizes he wins in the Milwaukee area and never question his mother's wisdom. However, he clearly wishes to go to the bigger fishing tournaments in spite of his mother's opposition. It appears that what seems to be lack of mental competence may actually be more a sign of his great loyalty to his mom whom he loves dearly in spite of her suffocating control.
After mom's death, in a hit-run auto collision, Albert is forced to take more control of his life as the scam artists, Quaid (as Jerry), Folland (as Tuey), and perhaps Dern's character, Sean, make their moves to gain control of the $300,000 or so he has accumulated.
I thought the first half of the movie was far too slow. Mainly, it introduced us to the characters. It did not take that long to get the take on Mom, Stan, Tuey, and Sean. Jerry (Randy Quaid) makes his appearance a little later.
The second half is much better as reality grabs Albert by the throat and forces him to take charge. How he does that gives the clues to his real capabilities.
I think people who compare "Milwaukee, Minnesota" with "Fargo" are just looking at the snow. The similarities between the two movies (other than the snow) are pretty minor.
Fargo it is not. A nice movie with some very complex characters (but not story) it is. Garity is excellent. Quaid and Dern, whom I suspect received far less pay than usual, gave them their money's worth.
It made for a pleasant afternoon in the movies on a cold spring day in Minnesota.
