Review of Raising Arizona (1987) by Joey E — 19 Mar 2012

Re-watched this in "celebration" of its 25th anniversary, and I still love it as much as I did the first time I saw it. "Quirky" is very hard to pull off, and this film does it in spades (so much so that it has been imitated in everything from "My Name is Earl" to "Napoleon Dynamite"). Its wonderful cast - Cage, Hunter, Goodman, every single supporting player - is perfect. They make the verbose, almost literary comedic prose simply work. Visually, the film says as much as its dialogue does. Soon-to-be-A-list director Barry Sonnenfeld ("MIB," "Addams Family") contributed so much to this production, with his fantastic compositions, unique angles, and highly original POV shots - even as a kid, I recognized how uniquely put together this movie is. The convenience store robbery and subsequent suburbia chase is a particular highlight, a swirling combo of perfect editing, shot selection, and comedic timing.

The Coens are master wordsmiths, and this film sits at the top of their impressive filmography for me. Every scene bears re-watching multiple times - once for the wacky mis-en-scene, once for the dialogue, and once to throw them all together. Even in repeat viewings, there's always something new to catch, whether it's a Nick Cage facial tic or a hilarious turn-of-phrase (the exchange at the gas station between two supporting characters is amazing in its laconic, low key, observational humor). And lastly, who can forget that wonderful yodel on the soundtrack?

"Raising Arizona" is a pitch-perfect, bizarre, heartfelt, optimistic fable about parenting, rising above your lot in life, and wishful thinking. It's easily one of my top three comedies of all time.