The 1987 ‘Raising Arizona‘ is the second feature film written and directed by the Coen brothers. The first film, ‘Blood Simple’ had impressed but also disturbed many of the viewers with the combination of strange or banal characters doing extreme things, with the comic or dramatic situations often resolved with realistic and refined violence. The two filmmakers had been criticized that their characters were almost all negative – criminals or immoral. ‘Raising Arizona‘ tries a diametrically opposite approach. Almost all the characters are positive, the only exception being a murderous thug who rides a motorcycle and who could very well just be the materialization of a nightmare of the main hero of the film. That’s not to say that the plot of the film isn’t full of strange happenings, chases, beatings and crimes of all kinds. But the approach is comical and empathetic, and this is one of the Coen brothers films that comes closest to the feel-good genre . It is also a film that already has the clear imprint of the style of films that the two brothers would make for the next almost 40 years.
Hi is a recidivist supermarket robber. Ed is the cop who takes Hi’s mugshot arrest photos and fingerprints so many times that she ends falling in love with him and convincing him to become an honest man after they marry. Life as honest newlyweds isn’t easy, though, especially when the couple discover they can’t have children or adopt because of Hi’s criminal record. Since most of the the Coen brothers’ characters have an atrophied moral sense, kidnapping one of the quintuplets of a wealthy couple seems like a reasonable solution. Kidnapping the baby proves to be the easiest part.
‘Raising Arizona‘ is a well written and excellently executed action comedy. As we can expect, the baby wins the hearts of the viewers and of the villains who kidnap him. Nicolas Cage seems to be playing a role that is a prelude to his later Nicolas-Cage-with-a-shaggy-hairstyle roles. Here he is young, full of humor and in love with the character played by Holly Hunter. How could he not be in love? Two more of my favorite actors appear in the well-chosen cast: John Goodman and Frances McDormand, the latter in a small role but showing that she was present in the casts of the Coen brothers from their first films, building the career that has brought her 4 Academy awards and counting. Cultural and cinematic references, from character names to entire scenes abound and beg to be discovered and savored. ‘Raising Arizona‘ was in 1987 and is still in 2024 quality summer and all-season entertainment.