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Look, Raising Arizona has its haters. Many cannot look past its lampoonish treatment of reality. Many more can't accept Nicolas Cage's performance as anything more than a physical performance of a Walt Disney cartoon. Those critical views simply fall on my deaf ears. The film is more loved than it is hated and rightly so. For an easy breezy walk through the madcap world as seen by Joel and Ethan Coen, nothing beats the comedic beats and zippy nature of 1987’s Raising Arizona. This, their follow-up to Blood Simple, made critics’ heads spin and delivered a one-two sucker punch to intelligent folks eager to see more serious drama. Serious, Raising Arizona ain’t; seriously fun it is.
"Ed" (Holly Hunter), short for Edwina, wants a baby. After meeting her repeat-offending criminal husband at one too many line-ups, "Hi" McDunnough (Nicolas Cage), she has everything she could possibly want. Yet, she cannot have the child that will complete her family. Springing to action is Hi, who narrates the movie, and resumes his criminal activity by stealing a baby from furniture tycoon Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) and his wife’s miraculous litter of five.
Arriving to Hi’s mobile home after escaping from prison are Hi's prison buddies, Gale and Evelle Snoats (John Goodman and William Forsythe). They aren’t the smartest of felons, yet they quickly become “hip” to Hi and Ed’s illegal activities and take the child as blackmail.
Even worse is what the horizon brings: bounty hunter Leonard Smalls (Randall "Tex" Cobb), a Mad Max-lookin’ character who convinces Mr. Arizona that he can return his baby to the fold. What transpires is a mad dash for stolen diapers, misplaced babies, and general insanity seen through the pen and lens of Joel and Ethan Coen.
Raising Arizona is best digested as a stylish-looking cartoon. The characters speak as ridiculously as they look and the set pieces are as exaggerated as the wild action that occurs inside them. From stealing a baby from a stash of quintuplets to a showdown between stringy Cage and a wild-eyed Cobb, the film pushes the boundaries of lunacy and presents its own particular brand of humor and reality.
Easily more upbeat than Blood Simple, the genius of Raising Arizona serves as the first great example that the Coens cannot be pigeonholed into one particular genre. The black humor is always there, yet - when it comes to subject matter - they excel at everything…even romantic comedies (Intolerable Cruelty). Hi is a loveable goofball criminal. Ed is sympathetic, too, even when she’s mad at Hi for stealing diapers and getting the cops (her friends) involved. And, as the hysterics grow, so does the hilarity of their desperation in keeping their pretend family together.
Raising Arizona twists and bends its reality with familiar locations like gas stations, grocery stores, and mobile homes until we have no choice but to accept their vision of ourselves. It’s a farce free-for-all; lightweight and super fun. Consider it the lampooned version of the great southwest; from its tacky lawn chair fashion to its iconic desert mise-en-scene.
Highly quotable and superbly stylized (without missing a detail), Raising Arizona is a perfect example of seriously great comedy. Yes, it’s as hollow as a reed but lifeless and tame it isn’t.
Raising Arizona is the first in a long line of dark comedies from the Coen Brothers. Parenting has never been this … illegal.
MPAA Rating: PG-13.
