Raising Arizona (1987)

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Ethan Coen (written by) &
Joel Coen (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Tagline:

A comedy beyond belief.

Plot:

When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintupelets, their lives get more complicated than they anticipated.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Arizona | Quintuplets | Love | Police

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	H.I. McDunnough
Holly Hunter	...	Edwina 'Ed' McDunnough
Trey Wilson	...	Nathan Arizona
John Goodman	...	Gale Snoats
William Forsythe	...	Evelle Snoats
Sam McMurray	...	Glen
Frances McDormand	...	Dot
Randall 'Tex' Cobb	...	Leonard Smalls
T.J. Kuhn	...	Nathan Arizona Jr. (as T.J. Kuhn Jr.)
Lynne Kitei	...	Florence Arizona (as Lynne Dumin Kitei)
Peter Benedek	...	Prison Counselor
Charles 'Lew' Smith	...	Nice Old Grocery Man
Warren Keith	...	Younger FBI Agent
Henry Kendrick	...	Older FBI Agent
Sidney Dawson	...	Moses, Ear-Bending Cellmate

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (Violence) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (video rating: 2001) | UK:15 (original rating) | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Circle Films

Trivia:

Edgar Wright's favorite film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The "Thrush Muffler" trademark tattoo on H.I.'s arm switches sides when he is chasing the babies around on the floor in the initial kidnapping scene. (flipped shot?)

Quotes:

[first lines]
H.I.: [voiceover] My name is H.I. McDonnaugh. Call me Hi.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Goofing-Off Suite

One fantastic movie!

H.I. "Hi" McDonnough (Nicolas Cage) is a repeat offender (his favorite thing to do is rob convenience stores) who falls in love with Edwina (Holly Hunter), the cop who always takes his mug shots. He swears off his criminal ways, proposes, and they spend some happy time together before they realize that they can't have a child of their own. Hearing that "unpainted furniture" kingpin Nathan Arizona, Sr. (Trey Wilson) has just become father to a set of quintuplets, they figure to take one of the children and raise it as their own. What the heck, he's got more kids than he can handle, right?

"Raising Arizona" is an endearing, loopy, sometimes wild and frenetic oddball movie with entertaining and likable characters. The chase scenes are absolutely breathtaking. Watch them for those incredible camera movements! The dialog is pretty funny at times, especially as spoken by this eclectic cast, also including John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand, and Randall "Tex" Cobb as a repugnant motorcycle-riding bounty hunter. M. Emmet Walsh has an amusingly obnoxious cameo as a guy who won't shut up.

This does have a little bit of everything: comedy, drama (yes, this is also a movie with real heart, in spite of the film's generally offbeat approach), action, crime, and farce, all blended together to make a satisfying whole by film-making brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, a worthy follow-up to their memorable film noir tribute (and debut), "Blood Simple".

"Raising Arizona" is an enjoyable experience all the way through. Highly recommended.

Sadly, co-star Wilson only made a few more films before passing away in 1989. His rants are among the funniest comedy moments in the film.

10/10