C.J.: Screenwriter comes to town in a Minnesota state of mind

Article by: C.J. , Star Tribune
Updated: March 26, 2012 - 8:00 PM

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L.A.-based screenwriter Wendy Kout left the Twin Cities with a batch of "YA, SURE ... JEW BETCHA" T-shirts.

Kout's movie, "Dorfman," has already been screened at the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival, which is showing other fine movies through April 1 at St. Louis Park's Sabes Jewish Community Center.

When Kout noticed the "Jew Betcha" T-shirts at her screening, "I thought, 'Great, perfect take-home gift.'" She then felt no need to purchase any shirts reading "Ya, you betcha," a saying that had gotten Kout in enough trouble already.

"This is such a subliminal thing: For some reason, the moment the plane landed, I started saying, like an idiot, 'Yeah, you betcha,'" Kout told me Monday. "People were looking at me like, Are you kidding? This isn't funny."

People would say, "Would you like another cup of coffee?" and she'd respond "You betcha," then wonder, "Where did that come from?"

It came from "Fargo," the Minnesota-born Coen brothers' dark comedy, and many people in these parts wish they could give it back. A fan of the brothers Coen, Kout has wanted to visit Minnesota since Mary Tyler Moore first tossed her hat to the sky on TV.

"The T-shirts are really adorable. 'Jew Betcha.' I love that," mused Kout. She took one to her father, Norman, who smiled when she delivered it to him at the L.A. recovery facility where he's being treated.

Kout's movie, "Dorfman," is a romantic comedy that stars Sara Rue as a dowdy single Jewish woman whose life changes when she takes a job cat-sitting for her dream man.

Since there's nothing dowdy about Rue, how'd they pull this off?

"When you're a great actor," Kout said, you can pull off anything. "She's absolutely gorgeous; the camera loves her. First off she wore very little makeup. We had a wig on her. I don't think she's dowdy in her physical features -- she's just so oppressed emotionally. You have to see the movie to appreciate the transformation. "

Elliott Gould plays Rue's widowed father. Kout would never dish about actors -- she's very protective of their privacy. However, she had no such compunction regarding the eight cats that played Elmer.

"This cat gave us more trouble. They're divas: This is the cat that only jumps. This is the cat that only purrs. This is the cat that only sleeps.

"Our poor director Brad Leong was driven insane by Elmer the cat, who looks like the same cat but is literally eight cats."

Teach one of those Elmers to meow "Ya, sure, Jew betcha," and that's an animal who'll please more Minnesotans than Frances McDormand did in her Oscar-winning performance.

The T-shirts are being sold at Minneapolis' Rye Delicatessen.

Ship the trophy to ...

While in Louisiana for a family wedding, I halfheartedly tried to collect our 2010 Super Bowl trophy.

Now that the NFL has confirmed that the Saints were (as it looked at the time) trying to injure Brett Favre in the 2010 NFC Championship game, some Vikings fans think we deserve the trophy. Maybe they have a point, since among those punished by the NFL were Saints coach Sean Payton, who's been suspended for the season without pay. (Seems to follow that Payton should also be out of sight for a year, which means not being a TV analyst or deciding who should be the interim coach. Commissioner Goodell: Payton's suspension is starting to resemble Will Gardner's on CBS's "The Good Wife," a TV drama.)

While the suspension of Payton, who reportedly lied to the NFL, seems justified, the Vikings getting the Saints Super Bowl trophy is a bit of pathetic stretch. But that didn't stop me from joking with Louisianans; I asked at every opportunity who I might see about getting it shipped up the Mississippi to Minneapolis.

Unfortunately, I found nobody who was too irritated by my suggestion, even though I was on turf where Drew Brees, who surely must have known about the bounties for injuries, is deified. ("Do dirty Saints deserve Brees-us?" read a Shreveport Times headline. That's "Brees-us," meant to rhyme with "Jesus.")

Speaking of unsaintly behavior, the bride at the wedding I attended tried many a soul with her tardiness. She disrespected the groom's family by keeping us waiting 2 1/2 hours for the rehearsal dinner and 75 minutes for the wedding.

Now that's a late hit.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. For more of her attitude watch the FOX 9 "Buzz" on Thursdays.