Feeling Minnesota is one of those quirky little indie films that actors feel compelled to take on every few years to prove that they're real actors and not just money-grubbing movie stars. This one certainly comes with a pedigree. Though a first-time effort by its young writer/director, the film was produced by Danny DeVito and funded by Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival.

The story concerns two estranged brothers--one younger, one older. Young Jjaks (Keanu Reeves) returns home to Minnesota to witness the marriage of older bro Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio) to pretty young thing Freddie (Cameron Diaz). The family reunion is less than happy, however, because Freddie is being forced to marry Sam by a vicious local crime lord (Delroy Lindo), for whom they both work. Following the uncomfortable nuptials, Freddie promptly seduces Jjaks and suggests the two run off to Las Vegas together. Eventually the two make a run for it, setting up a complicated chain of events involving dead bodies, crooked cops and blackmail.

Reeves is actually believable as the ne'er-do-well brother, striking just the right balance for probably the first time in his life (the only possible exception being My Own Private Idaho). Reeves is neither too heroic, nor too dumb. Cameron Diaz certainly lends spice to her role and actually manages to make her sex scenes with Reeves look pretty steamy. Vincent D'Onofrio--one of the most overlooked actors of our generation--continues his creepy resemblance to Orson Welles and does a fine job as the bullying but basically chickenshit older sibling. Bizarro supporting cast includes Tuesday Weld, Delroy Lindo, Courtney Love and Dan Aykroyd. Only Aykroyd seems wildly out of place as a corrupt police detective. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Courtney Love is turning into one of the most interesting actors on the circuit. She's only done a couple small cameos, but by God she's good. I must say I'm dying to see her in a feature role (the first will be Milos Forman's The People vs. Larry Flynt).

As a director, Baigelman does an excellent job of conveying the semi-urban grunge of a place like Minnesota--all washed out colors and rusted textures--to a tee. He does great work in handling his actors as well. One too-hard punch in the arm and Reeves and D'Onofrio seem so much like long-feuding brothers, it's scary. The love/hate/jealousy of these two brothers fuels the majority of the film. Only as a screenwriter does Baigelman stumble a bit. Feeling Minnesota careens wildly from plot to plot, from genre to genre. One minute it's a quirky romance, the next it's a darkly comic film noir piece. By the film's second half, the whole affair turns into a strange murder mystery, which pretty much drowns out the film's more interesting elements--but not before we're treated to some stellar perfomances.

Recommended. Not because it's trying to be hip, but because it's trying to be good.