Raising Arizona

MOVIE #1,979 • SCORE 10/10 • 09.19.24
SERIES: NICOLAS CAGE A-Z ACTOR FOCUS (Ch. 71)

Another Coens brother movie I’m reviewing outside of a proper Director Focus, which I don’t love (I need to get to their full filmography soon). This one is simply a classic. As a pure entertainment package, it easily ranks among the best of their work: a tight 90-minute, action-packed comedy with brilliant characters and performances in roles big and small (M. Emmet Walsh is a perfect example of the latter — he’s on-screen for maybe two minutes and it’s a pure delight). For time constraint reasons and because this is such a ubiquitous entry, I’m going to eschew the standard video plot recap review for this film, but I do want to dissect Cage’s presence here.

I think this one gets filed away under Crazy Cage because of his wacky look and unplaceable accent, but it’s a really nuanced and heartfelt performance. The constant strain, as he struggles to do the right thing, is all over his face and body language. It’s a way more complex character than appears at first glance. His emotional apology before blowing up Tex Cobb with a grenade at the end of the final, delirious and perfect climax says it all. That sequence, as well as the chase earlier in the film, are as good as it gets: pure joy cinema.

It’s not hard to see, but the Coens’ political messaging can easily get lost in that unadulterated splendor. Cage trying to steal diapers as he gets violently shot at in a technicolor supermarket is the perfect metaphor for late capitalist America. I’ve seen Raising Arizona three or four times now and it’s a film I could easily rewatch once a year.



THE VERDICT: 10 CAGES OUT OF 10 • CLICK HERE for all 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔜𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔣 ℭ𝔞𝔤𝔢 Chapters + Ongoing Rankings.

The Cage series will be taking a break for SPOOKY MONTH '24 but shall return in November with 1993's Red Rock West — a rare 90s film I know NOTHING about it.

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CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ MOVIE #1,978 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,980 ⫸

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Raising Arizona is a 1987 American crime comedy film written, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Nicolas Cage as H.I. "Hi" McDunnough, an ex-convict, and Holly Hunter as Edwina "Ed" McDunnough, a former police officer and his wife. Other members of the cast include Trey Wilson, William Forsythe, John Goodman, Frances McDormand, Sam McMurray, and Randall "Tex" Cobb. It was released on March 13, 1987.