"Fargo" was not 1996's best film, it was one of the worst (not as bad as "Independence Day" though). One of the film's problems, I think, is that the quality of of the characters is very poor. "A Simple Plan" has been called another "Fargo" but there is no comparison. In the excellent "A Simple Plan" the characters think about consequences and what they think about how to handle things. There is none of this in "Fargo". The characters just do things without thought. The kidnappers seemed to be having more sex than doing their "job".