Raising Arizona (1987) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Raising Arizona (1987) |
| Director | Joel Coen |
| Screenplay Writer | Joel Coen, Ethan Coen |
| Based on Novel by | — (Original screenplay) |
| Lead Actors | Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter |
| Cast | Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand, Randall “Tex” Cobb |
| Genre | Comedy, Crime |
| Release Date | March 13, 1987 (United States) |
| Duration | 1h 34m (94 minutes) |
| Budget | ~$6 million |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | ~$29.2 million |
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Summary
After discovering that they are unable to have children, a career criminal and his cop wife decide to take the next logical step. Steal one.
Review
This early Coen Brothers classic is, as its tagline states, a comedy beyond belief. After an arrest for armed robbery, H.I. McDonnough (Cage) falls in love with the police officer Edwina (Hunter) while she photographs him for his mug shot. Their romance blossoms, and after a few years of this odd courtship, “Hi” and “Ed” tie the knot. All is well until they discover that Ed cannot bear children.
Determined to start a family at all costs, they break into the home of famous furniture proprietor Nathan Arizona, whose wife recently gave birth to quintuplets, and steal one. The absurd premise is enough to make it a riot, but its appeal centers around dialogue, characters, camera work and some of the funnier chase fight scenes you will ever see. It is brilliantly directed, and despite its nuttiness, concludes in thought-provoking, heartwarming fashion.
There are enough memorable moments and aspects of Raising Arizona to fill many pages, but I’ll limit my list to a few. While Hi is an inept, blithering redneck throughout the film, he also narrates it in articulate, philosophical tones intertwined with Biblical references. This contrast, along with the musical score (classical, folk, yodeling) is almost surreal.
There are plenty of great one liners, from Hi’s friends the Snoats brothers explaining that they broke out of jail because “prison no longer had anything to offer them,” to psycho biker bounty hunter Leonard Smalls (hired by Nathan Arizona to find his son) breaking down the economics of selling a kidnapped child on the open market. The slapstick moments such as when Hi robs a grocery store and is pursued by cops, gun happy citizens and about three dozen dogs are funny to the point where the movie feels like a live action cartoon.
The Coens have shown that a comedy does not have to be dumbed down or replete with gross-out gags. As one of their earliest works, Raising Arizona set the stage for a series of original, memorable films.
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