Ebert Agrees

by Jason Pyles

On Sept. 4, I submitted a quick little post suggesting that Sarah Palin reminded me of Frances McDormand's character Marge Gunderson from "Fargo" (1996), a film we've previoulsy discussed at length, including the passive-aggressive phenomenon that is "Minnesota Nice."

Well, I always feel good about myself when I'm in alignment with Roger Ebert (notwithstanding his views on "The Village"). He has a blog called "Roger Ebert's Journal," and on his Oct. 3 post he wrote the following after her debate with Biden:

When [Palin] was on familiar ground, she perked up, winked at the audience two or three times, and settled with relief into the folksiness that reminds me strangely of the characters in "Fargo."
Palin is best in that persona. You want to smile with her and wink back. But who did she resemble more? Marge Gunderson, whose peppy pleasantries masked a remorseless policewoman's logic? Or Jerry Lundegaard, who knew he didn't have the car on his lot, but smiled when he said, "M'am, I been cooperatin' with ya here."