Why does Jerry ask for only an $80k ransom, when he owes GMAC $320k?
In the movie Fargo, automobile sales manager Jerry Lundegard owes $320,000 to GMAC, due to loans he has made for fictitious vehicles. At the same time, he arranges for his wife to be kidnapped for $80,000, with the kidnappers getting half of that ransom and the other half going to Jerry.
Why did Jerry ask for less ransom money than he owed? He could have easily asked for more -- he knows his father-in-law can afford it -- and gotten himself out of his mess with GMAC. (Indeed, he even tries unsuccessfully to call off the kidnapping after he finds a $750,000 scheme.)
Looking for an in-universe answer. Of course, the out-of-universe answer is that it helps to show how pathetic he is.
Related, but does not address the mismatch in the numbers: Is there any hint as to why Jerry needs the money?
Best Answer
Part of Jerry’s scheme is to embezzle the ransom. He tells the kidnappers (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare’s characters) that the ransom is $80k, and they will receive a cut from it plus the tan Sierra. He tells Wade that the kidnappers have asked for $1 million.
His whole scheme is upended when Wade refuses to let Jerry be the one who hands off the ransom (“it’s my money!”) and does it himself. The funny-looking fella is surprised to see Wade, ends up killing him, and is then even more surprised to find $920k more than he’d expected in the briefcase. He buries the extra money in the snow as a way of concealing it from his partner.
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Why does Jerry need the money?
He needed the money to buy that parking lot and become his own man, an equal with his father in law, and a success in the eyes of society. He was so desperate to establish himself as a "serious man", he risked absolutely everything, and lost. Quote from the interview: What made you want to play Jerry?Why did Jerry have his wife kidnapped?
Jerry hires two men to kidnap his wife so he can get his rich father in law to pay the ransom of $1 million. Once the ransom is paid the kidnappers will get $40,000 and Jerry gets the rest. That's the plan, but what happens is something totally different. Blood is shed when a cop and two innocent people are killed.What trouble was Jerry in Fargo?
It is revealed that he abandoned his son and fled to a motel in North Dakota. The police arrive at the motel, but Jerry tries to escape through a window. However, the policemen restrain him onto a bed and arrest him. He is put in prison for a long sentence, given his role in the kidnapping.Did they ever find the money in Fargo?
It is then that he sees the red icepick Carl left to mark the location of his bounty in Fargo the film. Taking this as a sign, Stavros digs it up and is overjoyed to find the money. He returns to his wife with a renewed and fervent faith in God, using the money to build his supermarket empire.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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