Cameron Diaz Movie:

				Salesrank:
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
In his debut effort, director/writer Steven Baigleman put together an interesting premise and collected a talented cast to execute it. Unfortunately, he never sets the tone, so we are caught between a wildly black comedy and an emotionally brutal drama. A firmer footing in either genre would have better defined our reactions to it. Keanu Reeves plays Jjaks, a man so badly trod upon by fate that his very name is the result of a typo. He arrives back at his mother's house in a lower working-class Minnesota neighborhood to witness the marriage of his older brother (Vincent D'Onofrio) to an obviously reluctant bride (Cameron Diaz). By the time Jjaks is on his way, he's stolen a car, a dog, and his brother's wife. You have to give Baigleman credit for serving up intriguing characters. Unfortunately, he spins the story in circles instead of moving it along. Reeves and Diaz attempt to leave Minnesota, but never quite make it. Reeves repeatedly returns to a boyhood home he hates, always stumbling into his brother's angry clutches. What does work are the performances. Diaz is both sad and strong as the tough cookie who happens to be the smartest character in the movie. D'Onofrio's stupid nastiness is offset by his crushing love for her and an uncontrollable jealousy of Jjaks. Most surprising is Reeves, who makes us feel for his angry, unhappy loser by revealing flashes of decency under a toughened exterior. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Feeling Minnesota [Region 2] Reviews:
For the love of Pete...
2007-01-05 - I suppose everyone is entitled to a "snafu" and this is certainly the gaffe-of-the-year for Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz.

Where to begin: This movie was tedious. And did I mention tedious? I would rather visit the dentist than sit through it again. I haven't felt this bad since "Bedtime For Bonzo."

The plot: Who knows? Who cares?

Generally, it's nice to have a protagonist to root for. There are times, of course, when the characters are gray and I can accept that. You don't always have a "hero" or well-defined character who steps up to the plate. But in the case of "Feeling Minnesota" the characters are downright murky and you find yourself wondering, "what's the point?" If I were living with those characters, I'd be hopping on the next zeppelin or Greyhound bus out of town.

Definately not one of her best....
2006-04-29 - This is definately not one of Cameron Diaz's best. In my opinion she ends up being a traitor in this movie. This is not a role that Cameron would normally play. Don't get me wrong, her acting is great as well as Vincent's and Keanu's. I think Keanu was the best one in this movie however. This is about a woman forced to get married...against her will. Then her knight and shining armor comes in, or so you think. Until things go totally awry. Things go a totally different way than what you expect them to, some very unexpected events occur. Despite her role in this movie, it is worth seeing.

Whoooah!!
2006-01-02 - This is truly one of the worse movies ever made. I found it in the comedy section of my video store and I expected a movie like Raising Arizona - something cute and enjoyable.

After I saw the first scenes with Cameron Diaz being roughed up in the back of the car I thought this will be a great movie (a sleeper) or this will be the worst movie ever made - not sure which - so I decided to see the rest of it. Since I had never heard of it before I expected the latter. I was right!

This movie ranks with classic worst movies such as UTurn and The Farmer. Truly bad - someone needs to revoke this guy's directorial license. Also I always thought of Vincent D'Onofrio as a quality actor - what's that "rocking back and forth and flapping his arms" acting technique he's using? He does it the whole movie! I feel sorry for Dan Akroyd or maybe I shouldn't - what was he thinking when he signed up for this? Oh my!

Twists and Turns
2004-01-07 - It starts off a little slow but about 3/4 of the way through it gets really interesting.
Good preformances.. but who taught Cameron Diaz how to drink a beer?

A tale of transformation.
2003-12-22 - This is a remarkable movie, not only in it's unusual and very funny way of making the points that it does, but in that it is written from a point of view that is almost never seen from the all-too-privileged aristocracy to which most of the movie industry's writers and directors belong. This movie is almost painfully insightful into the mental state of hopelessness which traps people into sordid lives, particularly those who are raised in that sort of life and have never experienced anything else. The characters Jjaks and Freddie not only manage to envision a way out, together they fight their way to some measure of freedom in the end. They do so using the only tools and behaviors they know, which means that it is all very sordid indeed, but their goals are so much more noble than anything that could be expected from that environment, that it is very close to a miracle that they exist at all. It should be noted that those characters who have chosen to embrace the sordid life instead of resist it are relatively thriving at the beginning of the film (Sam, Ben Costikyan, etc.) Jjaks, who has been to prison before, may once have been like them, but if so, something must have happened to change him (before the story in the movie?). The movie shows Jjaks' transformation, opening his capacity for compassion and love for another, and finally gaining the courage to hope. Keanu Reeves really nails his character admirably, playing someone who feels more than is really safe to feel in his environment, and has developed a deeply engrained habit of hiding his feelings. Look carefully for the use of color to symbolize the different stages in his transformation, and the meaning of the dog too.