Raising Arizona (1987)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

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 | Police | Convenience Store

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 Dumin Kitei	...	Florence Arizona
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

Color:

Color

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:

The acronyms "P.O.E" and "O.P.E." spray-painted in the washroom and shown in reverse in the mirror are references to the Stanley Kubrick films Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) and The Shining (1980).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the aforementioned picnic scene, when Dot and Ed are talking, Dot is spreading mustard on the sandwiches; the mustard bottle's label is clearly blocked out (i.e. to avoid product placement). But, when she places the bottle back on the table, part of the label on the other side of the bottle is visible, clearly identifying it (to someone in the Midwest, or someone who has actually used that brand, anyway) as a Plochmann's bottle. They then switch to a shot of H.I., then back to Ed and Dot; the bottle has turned back to hide the label.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead Horse (2004)

Soundtrack:

Girls, Do Not Wink

20 Years Later, This Is Still One Of The Looniest Films I've Ever Seen

When I first saw this I thought it was one of the craziest movies I'd ever seen. Twenty years later, I still feel the same way. No matter how many times I view this, I shake my head in amazement at some of the things I see and hear. It's definitely one-of-a-kind.

The wacky characters and outrageous story, of course, are the attractions here but I also enjoyed the low camera angles employed here by the directors, the Coen brothers, and I've always enjoyed Nicholas Cage's strange dialog in the narration.

Everyone in this film - everyone but the little babies - are totally insane, beginning with the lead people, the husband-and-wife team played by Cage and Holly Hunter. I got most of my laughs, however, from the supporting cast of John Goodman and Bill Forysthe as escaped convicts, Trey Wilson as the father of the quints and Randall "Tex" Cobb as "Leonard Smalls." For a pro boxer, Cobb turned out to be a pretty good actor.

If you're looking for something different, something really far out and funny, look no further.