Review of Raising Arizona (1987) by Chaz J — 07 Nov 2014

Raising Arizona is the story of an ex-con who marries a police officer. She is barren and his record makes adoption a non-option, so they decide the best thing to do is steal a baby from a family that was blessed with quintuplets.

This is the extreme version of Coen Brothers comedy. The events in this movie are somewhat far-fetched, and the action in the movie is like a live-action cartoon. The humor is just a little too fast-paced and farcical for me to connect with, this is not typically my style of comedy anyways.

The characters are also somewhat ridiculous, but I liked the acting performances. John Goodman and William Forsythe were particularly great in their roles as a pair of escaped cons who are friends with Nick Cage.

I don't want to give the impression that I hated Raising Arizona, because I did find parts of it very funny. There was just something about the overall style of the movie that didn't resonate for me.

I can see why people like it, and I also see the roots of the Coens' comedy style that works a little better for me in later movies. Sadly, I don't foresee myself ever watching this one again.