{2jtab: Movie Review}

Raising Arizona - Blu-ray

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4 stars

Look, Raising Arizona has its haters. Many cannot look past its lampoonish treatment of reality.  Many more can't accept Nicolas Cage's performance as anything more than a physical performance of a Walt Disney cartoon. Those critical views simply fall on my deaf ears.  The film is more loved than it is hated and rightly so. For an easy breezy walk through the madcap world as seen by Joel and Ethan Coen, nothing beats the comedic beats and zippy nature of 1987’s Raising Arizona.  This, their follow-up to Blood Simple, made critics’ heads spin and delivered a one-two sucker punch to intelligent folks eager to see more serious drama.  Serious, Raising Arizona ain’t; seriously fun it is.

"Ed" (Holly Hunter), short for Edwina, wants a baby. After meeting her repeat-offending criminal husband at one too many line-ups, "Hi" McDunnough (Nicolas Cage), she has everything she could possibly want. Yet, she cannot have the child that will complete her family.  Springing to action is Hi, who narrates the movie, and resumes his criminal activity by stealing a baby from furniture tycoon Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) and his wife’s miraculous litter of five.

Arriving to Hi’s mobile home after escaping from prison are Hi's prison buddies, Gale and Evelle Snoats (John Goodman and William Forsythe).  They aren’t the smartest of felons, yet they quickly become “hip” to Hi and Ed’s illegal activities and take the child as blackmail.

Even worse is what the horizon brings: bounty hunter Leonard Smalls (Randall "Tex" Cobb), a Mad Max-lookin’ character who convinces Mr. Arizona that he can return his baby to the fold.  What transpires is a mad dash for stolen diapers, misplaced babies, and general insanity seen through the pen and lens of Joel and Ethan Coen.

Raising Arizona is best digested as a stylish-looking cartoon.  The characters speak as ridiculously as they look and the set pieces are as exaggerated as the wild action that occurs inside them.  From stealing a baby from a stash of quintuplets to a showdown between stringy Cage and a wild-eyed Cobb, the film pushes the boundaries of lunacy and presents its own particular brand of humor and reality.

Easily more upbeat than Blood Simple, the genius of Raising Arizona serves as the first great example that the Coens cannot be pigeonholed into one particular genre.  The black humor is always there, yet - when it comes to subject matter - they excel at everything…even romantic comedies (Intolerable Cruelty).  Hi is a loveable goofball criminal.  Ed is sympathetic, too, even when she’s mad at Hi for stealing diapers and getting the cops (her friends) involved.  And, as the hysterics grow, so does the hilarity of their desperation in keeping their pretend family together.

Raising Arizona twists and bends its reality with familiar locations like gas stations, grocery stores, and mobile homes until we have no choice but to accept their vision of ourselves.  It’s a farce free-for-all; lightweight and super fun.  Consider it the lampooned version of the great southwest; from its tacky lawn chair fashion to its iconic desert mise-en-scene.

Highly quotable and superbly stylized (without missing a detail), Raising Arizona is a perfect example of seriously great comedy.  Yes, it’s as hollow as a reed but lifeless and tame it isn’t.

Raising Arizona is the first in a long line of dark comedies from the Coen Brothers.  Parenting has never been this … illegal.

{2jtab: Film Details}

Raising Arizona - Blu-rayMPAA Rating: PG-13.
Director
: Joel and Ethan Coen
Writer
: Joel and Ethan Coen
Cast:
Nicola Cage; Holly Hunter; John Goodman; William Forsythe; Frances McDormand
Genre
: Adventure | Comedy | Crime
Tagline:
Their lawless years are behind them. Their child-rearing years lay ahead...
Memorable Movie Quote: "Biology and the prejudices of others conspired to keep us childless."
Distributor:
20th Century Fox Film Corporation
Home Video Distributor:
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Official Site:
Release Date: March 13, 1987
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 30, 2011

Synopsis: Combining influences from Tex Avery cartoons to Sam Raimi horror movies to 1940s B-movies, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen followed up the stylish film noir of their debut, Blood Simple (1984), with this frantic screwball comedy. H.I. "Hi" McDonnough (Nicholas Cage) is a philosophical but slightly dim career criminal who has been arrested so often that he gets to know "Ed," short for Edwina (Holly Hunter), the officer who takes his mug shots. Hi takes a shine to Ed and promises to go straight if she marries him. She accepts, and they move to the Arizona desert, where Hi holds down a factory job and blissfully watches the sunsets with Ed.

Their serenity is shattered when the couple decides that they want a child and discover that, as Hi puts it, "Ed's womb was a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase." (One of the film's many delights is Hi's unexpectedly flowery dime-novel narration.) Ed goes into a severe depression until she sees an item in the news. Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson), owner of a chain of unpainted furniture stores, has become the father of quintuplets, and he and his wife joke that they now have more children than they know what to do with. In what seems like a perfect "helps you, helps me" situation, Hi and Ed kidnap one of the Arizona infants, figuring that they'll have a baby and the Arizonas will have less of a burden.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Raising Arizona - Blu-ray

Component Grades
Movie

Blu-ray Disc
4 stars

2 stars



Blu-ray Experience
3 stars

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - August 30, 2011
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English, French, Spanish
Audio: DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Playback: Region A

Presented in a pretty strong 1080p transfer, the film has never before looked this crisp. Colors are vivid and fine details are noticeable. The desert skies are a true azure and the land is full of lush browns and spotted greens. Skin tones are warm. Occasionally, the red tones overcompensate in some areas, but a sharp-looking release nonetheless. The faithful English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is an incredible accompaniment to the feature. Great sound textures and crackling dialogue throughout. In other words, all of Goodman’s primordial screams can be heart reverberating throughout your house.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

I wish I had good news.  I don’t.  There is nothing special to be found on the disc except 3 minutes of trailers and TV Spots.  What a waste.

  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spot

{2jtab: Trailer}

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