Have you ever watched a film you held in your memory, only to see how differently you interpret it upon re-watch? I was in seventh grade upon the release of Raising Arizona, and while I never saw the film in theatres, I later stumbled across it that same year on the movie cable station. We’d just moved from Florida to Memphis, and I was not partial to the southern accents, mind you. So amid my depressed tween angst, I watched this redneck-laden film, which made me feel even more despair, as I thought I might become like this someday given my current southern location. Silly, I realize now, but stereotypes exist for a reason, and this film is overwhelmed with them—but not without purpose.
Nicolas Cage plays an ex-con named H.I., who just can’t seem to stay out of jail. He falls in love with police officer Ed (Holly Hunter) and eventually asks her to marry him. They move to a trailer park in Tempe, Arizona with the plans of starting a family, but Ed comes to learn that she’s infertile. Meantime, local businessman and furniture storeowner Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) has a wife who just birthed quintuplets. Figuring that the Arizona couple has more babies than they can handle, H.I. and Ed plan to kidnap the child and raise him as their own. Already, one can see the absurdism. One of the funniest moments is when H.I. breaks into the Arizona household in his attempt to steal a baby. (Supposedly 15 toddlers were used to film the five babies, and one was fired once he learned to walk. However, the one they abduct—Nathan Jr., is played by 1985-born T.J. Kuhn who as of 2014 was working as a real estate agent in Phoenix.)
What makes the film so colorful, however, is the detail within the diction. No one is evil, per se, only stupid. Two convicts bust out of jail and show up at H.I. and Ed’s place one night, with the plan to crash there for a few days. They have big ambitions, like robbing a bank (where the locals wear overalls and carry cages with chickens) all the while behaving like slobs, dribbling their milk as they eat. ‘Why don’t you breastfeed him?’ Gale (played by John Goodman) asks. Ed tells the criminal to mind his own business. ‘You better leave,’ she says. Then, cut to Glen and Dot—the obnoxious ‘swinging’ couple with an army of terrible, undisciplined children who break everything and write ‘fart’ on the wall in crayon. Glen is H.I.’s boss and he likes telling racist Polish jokes while his wife (played wonderfully by a young Frances McDormand) wears bright colors and won’t stop talking. The film, narrated by H.I., seems to be in an existential crisis, but when he relays his troubles to Glen, the idiot can only recommend wife swapping.
While Raising Arizona isn’t a deep film per se, it is great farce. Characters do and say ridiculous things, like H.I. robbing a convenience store with a nylon stocking on his head, only to steal a package of Huggies and whatever cash is in the register. ‘Son, you got a panty on your head,’ one local says. Or when one of the convicts steals a bag of balloons and asks, ‘Say, these here balloons blow up into funny shapes?’ ‘Not unless round is funny,’ he’s told. Ultimately, H.I. is chased by an aggressive dog and shot down by the pimply convenience store kid he robbed, but at least he gets away with his package of Huggies.
I was surprised to see that Roger Ebert only gave this film one and a half stars, where in his review he states, ‘The movie cannot decide if it exists in the real world of trailer parks and 7-Elevens and Pampers, or in a fantasy world of characters from another dimension. It cannot decide if it is about real people, or comic exaggerations. It moves so uneasily from one level of reality to another that finally we’re just baffled. Comedy often depends on frustrating the audience’s expectations. But how can it work when we don’t have a clue about what to expect – when the movie itself doesn’t know what is possible and what is not?’
Hmm, I can’t say I disagree more, Roger. In no way does Raising Arizona take itself seriously, and nor does it seem to be ‘on the fence’ between farce and reality. How could it be with such petty thieves, kidnappers, bounty hunters, and bank robbers who worry about diapers? Interestingly, this film has much in common with the Coen Brothers’ 2000 film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?—not just with the use of music, but rather, O Brother involves a group of outcasts who are also convicts escaped from jail, only to stumble upon endless absurdism within their journey.
Raising Arizona presents every stereotype one can imagine, even with regard to the land itself. Tempe seems to be a barren expanse of wild, long roads, sequoia cacti, and trailer parks. I mean, one might wonder what else is there to do but breed excessively or erupt into a life of crime? Since 1987, the Coen Brothers have come a long way with their films—many humorous and absurd, where the characters seem just a bit off. And while this film didn’t do much for me at 12, I can say it ranks more memorably than some of their other films that have gained more recognition. (I remember thinking that Fargo was just ok.)
Furthermore, this role seems to be perfect for Nicolas Cage, who need not act much because H.I. is a one-note who can only express his passion through crime. He need not deliver any humor, but rather, remain flatline in his reaction to the jokes around him. Likewise, Holly Hunter is cute as his petite, feisty wife in search of a child. Yet in the end, we never know what happens—if they split up or both end up in heaven with children together. Either way, it doesn’t matter. They return the baby, which is the right thing to do. Again, these are not evil people, merely stupid, but without stupid people there would be no movie.
I came to learn the filmmakers decided to cast 1985-born T.J. Kuhn for the role of Nathan Jr., simply because he was a laid back baby who didn’t cry and didn’t mind being carried around in car seats. However, since this film’s release, clearly much has changed—especially Arizona itself, which like anywhere has grown crowded with suburbs. (Admittedly, it is nice to be presented with scenery void of Walmarts.) Revisiting memory, one must admit these characters are laughable losers—enjoyable, colorful, and never intellectual. Some of this I knew then. Clever farce doesn’t grow old but only appreciates with time. To this, viewers will relate.
* * *
If you enjoyed this review of the Coen Brothers’ RAISING ARIZONA, consider supporting our film on a great American poet and get patron-only content on Patreon. This will help the growth of this site, the automachination YouTube channel, and the ArtiFact Podcast. Recent episodes include an analysis of Kamala Harris’s 2024 predicament, a dissection of the post-Gaza Middle East, and a comprehensive look at art theory with critic Erik Hill.
More from Jessica Schneider: Beware the Man in the Rubber Suit: Jack Arnold’s “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954), POETRY: Luncheon on the Grass (After Manet), As Is: Reviewing Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson” (2016)