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.) […]