Really Surprised!

I wanted to but couldn't!

An Exercise In Nonsense

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Micki (Mare Winningham) plays a 15 year-old who ran from home and spent months in New York City prostituting herself. The police have found her, beaten by her pimp and ready to come home. But this won't be a happy reunion and you have a general idea why she ran when you see her parents' reaction...no crying, no hugs, nothing! The father (Hal Holbrook) often deals with things by NOT dealing with things and the mother (Michael Learned) is just angry. Obviously the homecoming is going to be a bumpy ride! As for Micki, she isn't completely committed to being home either...and she drinks and is a mess. As for her classmates in her high school, she is NOT made particularly welcome--and most of the guys just see her as a chance for an easy trick. In light of all of this, does Micki stand a chance?! And, why did she leave in the first place?!For 1980, this is pretty intense stuff...very adult for a made for TV film. I am NOT complaining or saying it's inappropriate...just a bit unexpected. The acting is excellent, the story filled with twists and surprises and it seems very sad but very real as well. A good film, available on YouTube if you're looking to see it...and one with no magical happy endings.

Rarely have television-made movies explored misguided youth so well as in "Off The Minnesota Strip". Mare Winningham gets to utilize her full-range as an actress, portraying a young runaway who is forced to return home to her confused, exhausted parents and go back to school. Mare Winningham is tender, stubborn, annoying, maddeningly smart but easily swayed. She's an exciting presence on the screen, singing "Just My Imagination" in the police station or auditioning for the school play. The parents, played by Hal Holbrook and Michael Learned, are pretty much the standard forehead-rubbers that we usually get in youth movies, and Holbrook's line-readings are occasionally overwrought, but the film is extremely well-directed and presented.

When I saw this, I was deeply impressed with the young actress, Mare Winningham. Everything she did (as an actress) was brilliant -- even when she smoked (blowing smoke from the side of her mouth).If I'm correct, she had been sexually abused by her father (Hal Holbrook) when she was a little girl, but didn't hold it against him after she became a teenager. Yes, she was troubled, but I think her biggest headache was a very critical mother (Michael Learned), who, obviously put up with the abuse.When Mare comes back from her New York jaunt as a prostitute, she bravely goes back to high school. She even dabbles in a little hooking upon her return. Boys, of course, are "after" her sexually, and then she has to deal with her NY pimp, who arrives to take her back to the street. Leon Isaac Kennedy as the pimp gave a marvelous performance.Funny, why a great film like this is allowed to get lost in the shuffle. This should be restored and put on DVD. I'd love to hear comments from Miss Winningham and the other living cast members about their experience while making the picture.I have seen Winningham in many TV movies since, including the wonderful, "Amber Waves," and felt that she could be the next Bette Davis or Shirley Booth. What an actress! "Off The Minnesota Strip" was certainly Mare Winningham's finest hour.

I remember this movie well and always think of it if I see Mare Winningham in other movies. It's a portrayal of a troubled teenage girl who runs away from a bad family scene only to have to return and deal with the issues in her life. I haven't seen this movie since the early '80s, but it's a memorable one. It was never shown in repeats, even during late night movies for some reason. It would be nice to see this made-for-tv movie available on DVD someday.