Right time for another 80s film and this one is a Cohen brothers classic, Raising Arizona which was released all the way back in 1987 and follows the story of a young couple who decide to steal a baby because they can't have one of their own. So let's put on the shades, the sun cream for the desert sun and have a look at this un....
So the story starts with a small time robber Herbert I. "Hi" McDunnagh (Nicholas Cage) who meets a policewoman, Edwina "Ed" (Holly Hunter) who takes his mugshots in jail. After repeated offences, Hi continues to meet Ed at the jail and the two of them soon grow fond one of one another and Hi learns that Ed's fiance left her. After his latest prison releasem Hi proposes to Ed and they soon get married and they move into a mobile home in the Arizona desert. However their happiness is shattered when Ed discovers that she cannot have children and because of Hi's criminal record they cannot adopt a child. Then there is the news of the Arizona "quints" on the news, as a locally famed furniture magnate named Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) and his wife have just had five baby sons. Hi then goes to their house and sneaks in and kidnaps one of the babies and they take the child home, who they believe is Nathan Jr. Hi is soon visited by two of his prison buddies, Gale and Evelle Snoats (John Goodman and William Forsythe) who almost tempt to go back to his criminal ways, however he resists as Ed doesn't approve of them and wants them gone.
However things take a turn for the worse when Hi's work supervisor, Glen (Sam McMurray) and his wife, Dot (Frances McDormand) turn up for a social gathering at which Glen later proposes they wife swap, which leads Hi to punch Glen. Hi later that night, out of desparation holds up a convenience store to get some diapers for the baby, which Ed witnesses from the car, and she angrily drives off without him, forcing Hi to hightail it on foot with the police chasing him. Ed however soon relents and picks up Hi and they share a tense ride home together. The next day Glen turns up at Hi's trailer and tells him he's fired and not only that but he plans to blackmail him as Glen has sussed that Hi and Ed have stolen Arizona's baby and he plans to take the baby for themselves and he will turn them over to the police if he doesn't co-operate. However Gale and Evelle have overheard the conversation as they were inside the trailer and they take the baby for themselves and they tie up Hi. Gale and Evelle plan to rob a bank, which they do, however the money they take is ruined as the teller unbeknown to them put a dye canister inside which goes off while they drive away in the car. Hi and Ed soon catch up with Gale and Evelle and they take back the baby to return Nathan Arizona, after which Ed suggests they end their marriage.
However on the way they are intercepted by a bounty hunter named Leonard Smalls (Randall "Tex" Cobb) who has been tracking Gale and Evelle's movements, who also approached Nathan Sr to offer to get the child back for a bounty. Smalls soon catches up with Hi and Ed and he beats Hi viciously and as he is about to kill him, Hi accidentally pulls one of the clips out of a hand grenade on Smalls vest, with Hi running away just in time before Smalls is blown to pieces. Hi and Ed then return the baby to Nathan Sr who confronts them but then begins understand their reason as to why they took him and he suggests that before "they go and do anything stupid" to sleep on their decision as to whether they should break up or not. And the film ends with Hi having a vivid dream of his future with Ed......
Raising Arizona remains one of the Cohen brothers most charming films, which is a welcome change from some of their more hard edged movies, yet at the same time it is quirky enough that it never veers toward being overly sentimental. The characters in Arizona are also quite likeable with Hi, a small time criminal who tries his best to go straight after he marries Ed and they long to have a child together, but when they release they can't they resort to drastic measures. Ed is a bit more highly strung and bosses Hi a bit in the film, but she too is a decent character who is desparate to have a child of her own and disapproves of Hi's prison buddies, Gale and Evelle. Gale and Evelle also despite their criminal backgrounds are also somewhat strangely endearing and provide alot of humourous moments in the film. The only contrast to these characters is of course Leonard Smalls, who appears almost like a precursor to Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, as an unstoppable evil force, who even kills God's creatures and anything else in his way.
And this brings me neatly onto the performances section of the review and the cast are all great here, with Nicholas Cage playing one of his most likeable roles as Hi, a well meaning although not entirely bright criminal who tries to go straight and marries, a policewoman, Ed, and they long to have a family, but are crushed when they realise they can't. Cage has some excellent moments in the film such as the scene where he robs the convenience store, wearing a pair of tights over his head and holds the gun to the clerk and as Ed berates him from outside he says to the clerk "Better hurry it up, I'm in dutch with the wife!". Also the scene where he sits at one of his parole hearings and the board chairman says "They got a name for people like you, Hi. Its called a recividism, a repeat offender! Not a pretty name is it Hi?" and Hi says "No, sir. But that's not me anymore". And the chairman says "You're not just telling us what we want to hear?" and Hi says "No, sir" and the chairman says "Because we just want to hear the truth" and Hi says "Well then I guess I am telling you what you want to hear". And when Hi's supervisor tries to talk him into some swinger action with their wives, Hi punches him and says "Keep your goddamn hands off my wife!". Another good scene for Cage is when he learns that Ed's fiance has left her and he says "You tell him I think he's a damn fool. You tell him I said, H.I. McDonnugh! If he wants to discuss it, he knows where to find me, in the Maricopa maximum security correctional facility for men state farm, Road number 31, Tempe, Arizona! I'll be WAITIN!!".
Holly Hunter is also excellent in her role as Edwina "Ed" the policewoman who falls in love with Hi and they end up getting married but their lives are devastated when they realise that Ed is infertile. And this brings in one of the Hunter's funniest moments when she drives back home to their trailer and she sobs uncontrollably and says "Ed, I'm barren!!". And later when they kidnap Nathan Jr, Ed holds the baby and she starts to sob again as she says "I love him so much!". Hunter also later has another funny moment when she reads a story to Nathan Jr while she waits for Hi to get diapers, only to see him hold up the store and she looks on angrily and says "That son of a bitch!" and she get's out the car and continues to yell "You son of a bitch!!".
John Goodman also puts in a great turn as the criminal Gale Snoats, who escapes from prison along with his brother Evelle. Goodman, who is no stranger to comedy is right at home here and he has some pretty funny moments in the film. And Goodman's first scene is pricelss where he escapes from prison, having tunnelled his way out and rises up from the earth, roaring his head off with delight and he helps pull Evelle out of the ground as well. Goodman also has some amusing moments where he seems suspicious about the Arizona child that Hi and Ed have got, such as where he sees Ed use a bottle of milk to feed the baby instead of breast feeding, and he says "Why ain't you breast feeding him? You appear to be capable". And as he notices that Ed seems to be more controlling of Hi, he says "Say who is wearin the trousers around here, Hi?" and later he says "Got you on an awful short leash, don't she, Hi?". And when he's asked by Ed did he and Evelle bust out of prison, Gale says "We felt the institution no longer had anything to offer us". Also when Ed tries to get out of the social engagement with his supervisor Glen, and Ed disapproves, he meekly gives in and Gale ponders smoking his cigarette "So many social engagements, so little time". And another funny scene comes when after they take Nathan Jr from Hi and tie him up, they rob a bank and they leave without the baby, and when it dawns they left him on the side of the road, they scream in horror and turn back, with Gale going bananas and pounding the steering wheel (suffice to say they leave screaming in this film!).
William Forsythe is also funny in his role as Gale's non too bright brother, Evelle, and he has some funny moments, such as the scene where after they drive off with the baby, Gale looks down at the baby, who has just done a poo, and he turns to Gale and says "Gale, he just had hisself a little ol' accident! You see though moving we are, he just had hissel a little ol' rest stop" and Gale sniffs the air and says "Well that's natural". Also the scene where he robs an aged convenience store clerk and says "Right old timer, I want you to count to 825 and then count all the way back down again! And I'll be back in five to make sure you ain't cheatin!". And as they rob the bank together, Gale orders all the customers and staff to get on the ground, but he then looks around and asks where all the tellers are, and Evelle says "They're on the floor, as you command, Gale".
In other supporting roles, Trey Wilson is also pretty good as Nathan Arizona Sr, who is locally famous furniture magnate, often seen on TV. Wilson has some good moments in the film, such as the scene where the police question him after he and his wife learn of the disappearance of Nathan Jr, and the policeman asks what the baby was wearing "I don't they were jammies! They Yodas and shit on em!". And he looks angrily at the police officers in his house who stand around and says "Damnit, are you boys gonna chase down your leads or are you gonna sit drinkin coffee in the one house in the state where I know my boy ain't at?". And later on in the film's second last scene where Hi and Ed return Nathan Jr to him, and he catches them about to leave. And Nathan Sr realises they took the baby and they tell him why and he says "Well surely medical science might catch up with you one, day. It sure did with us, with a vengeance!". And as Ed and Hi tell Nathan they are thinking of breaking up he says "Well ma'am I don't know much, but I do know human beings. You brought my boy back so you must have your good points, too. Oh and before you do another foolish think like bustin up, I suggest you sleep on it. At least for one night."
And then there is Randall "Tex" Cobb who makes a memorable impression as the bounty hunter, Leonard Smalls who is like an unstoppable force, who is out to collect Nathan Jr as well, and he cuts an intimidating figure, with his darkened muddy skin and his amusing tatoo which says "My momma never loved me". Cobb has some good moments such as where he goes into Nathan Sr's office and makes his offer to get the baby back. And he introduces himself to Nathan by saying "Name's Smalls. Leonard Smalls. My friends call me Lenny... only I ain't got no friends". Cobb also has some amusing moments where we see him blow away God's creatures, such as an innocent bunny rabbit, and his fight scene with Hi, where he beats Hi near senseless, and floors him with an uppercut, the style of which is done like something out of the video game Mortal Kombat.
And lastly I will mention Sam McMurphy who is quite funny in his role as Glen, Hi's supervisor at work, who proposes that they do some wife swapping. And he says to Hi "I'm talkin about sex, boy! I'm talkin about L'maour! I'm talkin that me and Dot (his wife) are swingers! I'm talkin about wife swappin! I'm talkin about what they call nowadays open marriage..." and then Hi proceeds to deck Glen with one punch. And after that Glen runs away in a panic "You're crazy!" and without looking his runs into a post! And the regular cast Frances McDormand and also wife to one of the Cohen brothers is pretty good in her albeit brief role as Dot. And last of all Emmett Walsh has a funny cameo in the film as a machine shop ear bender, who works in the store with Hi, who keeps telling him corny stories.
As for the Cohen brothers well they do an excellent job here with directing the film as well as writing it and the film zips along nicely and never drags as it is just a mere 94 minutes long. The Cohens also employ some great camera work, as well as some amusing visual gags such as the scene where Hi is chased by the police through a supermarket and on the streets and even some dogs chase him as well. Carter Burwell, who is the Cohen brothers regular composer also provides a pleasant and jaunty music score, with that rather catchy but albeit slightly annoying intro theme with the guy yodelling over it.
Flaws wise, Raising Arizona isn't burdened with too many, although perhaps the one thing that does niggle me about the film is where exactly did Leonard Smalls come from??? As the film suggests that Hi created him out of his memory and he became a solid apparition in a sense, which is in itself is pretty daft. This is especially seen in the moment where Smalls appears on his motorbike, driving on the roads, and Hi suddenly sees him as does Ed, who asks who he is and Hi says "You see him too??". The film's ending also leaves Ed and Hi's future hanging in the balance, which may annoy some audience members who want to see if they still remain together or not, although the dream does suggest that they will. But then again its not the first film to finish on an unresolved ending and it certainly won't be the last.
So that's it for my look at Raising Arizona, which still remains a charming, funny and offbeat comedy which is still worth a watch almost 30 years on.
And with that I shall leave yeee there.
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