Raising Arizona (1987): Outlaw Parenting [Mike’s review]
Today on Cage Club we go on a crime spree with Raising Arizona. I can say with confidence this one of my favorite movies ever. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen it, but I know it’s a lot. I love it as much now as when I would watch it with my friends in High school, if not more so because nowadays I’m obsessive over films while back then I was merely crazy about them. The script is super tight and the film making techniques are very polished, these are the Coen Bros. after all. The music is terrific and unique and it’s easy to get stuck in your head, the combination of Banjo and Yodel creates a beautiful musical symmetry. The acting and directing creates an almost cartoon like heightened reality where everything is stylized and over the top adding a comedic slant to an otherwise serious tale. The vast open landscapes scream America, providing a beautiful setting for this unique account of trying to form the Nuclear Family and chase the American Dream. It really is one of the funniest movies made while commenting on the ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system, the hardships of parenthood and the power of love.
The film stars Nic Cage as H.I.Mcdunnough (HIM). He’s a habitual criminal, modern outlaw and all around red neck. We follow him through the revolving door of the system as he catches the eye of the female Police Office Edwina or ED for short. They get hitched and wanna start a family, a Cop and a Robber settin’ up shop. When they find out they can’t conceive it looks like the end until the Arizona Quints are born. Determined to make a family by any means necessary, H.I. and Ed set off to babyknap one of the quints and raise it as their kin. While they succeed in snatching the kid, they aren’t quite prepared for the responsibility of baby rearing. H.I. tries to go straight but the lack of excitement and mounting responsibility has him turning back to his old ways of crime. Ed becomes overprotective and disappointed that she let her husbands criminal ways infect her rational thinking. All the while a supernatural biker from hell straight out of Mad Max has his sights on finding the baby and reaping the reward. When the couple is found out and the baby is taken, they must risk their lives and their marriage to return the child safely back into he arms of his true parents. Can H.I. learn to accept the responsibilities of the adult world or is his criminal nature too hard to quell ?
The opening 10 minutes is basically one really long montage introducing the main characters and their dilemma. It’s like a short film preamble to the main attraction. It hits the ground running and never stops, setting the pace and tone for the next 90 minutes. Nic Cage is the first thing we see. He is getting his mugshot taken by his future bride. He courts her over his next several periods of incarceration while she continually books and processes him. I love the idea here of a Cop and a criminal falling in love. The whole move could just be about these two coming from opposite sides of the law and the all the taboos that come with that. We also learn the couple can’t have kids and adoption is out of the question so they plot to seal a baby. This all washes over me and the huge grin on my face. I can’t believe how economic this movie is with all the info being fed to me, none of it feeling forced or unnecessary. The film even uses voiceover in a risky but effective manner to convey H.I.’s state of mind and his thoughts and feelings about life.
I love the fact that H.I. and Ed never plan for any repercussions. They never consider any criminal consequences for their action as if they are entitled to this child because nature denied them one of their own. They try to act natural and do family things like spend time with other couples, but between H.I’s checkered past and Ed’s propensity to dictate, the marriage starts to strain. When two escaped convict friends of H.I. show up for a place to Lay Low, their line of questioning about the baby trips up the couple who give conflicting information about how he came to be there. H.I.’s boss comes over with his Brood and H.I. get’s a possible glimpse of his future surrounded by crazy children running amok. The responsibility mounts up and becomes too much for him and he regresses to holding up a convenient store, launching into a terrific chase sequence. This chase scene is amazing as H.I. is chased through the street into a backyard, through a house and finally the supermarket all the while trying to hold onto a bag of diapers. Ed is fuming at the robbery attempt and H.I. just can’t feel confident at becoming an adequate father or husband. His lack of ability to provide prompts him to pen a sweet good bye letter to Ed as he plans to leave them, claiming he doesn’t deserve them. All that is moot though because H.I.’s friends, the escaped convicts, take the baby for the ransom in a tremendous trailer park fight. The trailer is way to small and frail to handle two grown men fighting in it and they destroy the place in the process. Hi and Ed set out to rescue little Nathan Jr ( the baby ) in a climactic confrontation with destiny. In the end H.I. comes face to face with the physical manifestation all his worst fears and inadequacies personified in Leonard, the Baby Bounty Hunter. Their epic fight over the fate of Baby Nathan shows that H.I. is finally ready to make the ultimate sacrifice and step up to the plate, putting someone’s well being ahead of his own.
I don’t think I will ever get tired of watching this movie. It’s so funny and so well done, it just hits all the marks for me. It introduced me to the Coen Bros. and I’v been a life long fan of their work ever since. I was aware of Nic Cage before seeing this film but I would certainly consider this one of his pivotal roles, showcasing just how great an actor he can be. This movie is just firing on all cylinders and I can’t rain enough praise upon it.
Next up on Cage Club we investigate the romanic properties of the Moon and it’s effect on the brain when Cage shacks up with CHER in the comedy “Moonstruck”.
Mike
@the_mikestir
