Raising Arizona

1987  PG-13  COMEDY  1h 34min

CAST— Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter

MUSIC— Carter Burwell  DIRECTOR— Joel Coen

     Here is a truly weird, funny and original comedy starring Nicolas Cage as a bumbling ex-con named H. I. married to an over-dramatic ex-cop, played by Holly Hunter. When this odd couple find out that they are doomed to remain childless, life pretty much stops for them. Until they hear about a furniture store tycoon’s wife giving birth to quintuplets. So they hatch a plan to kidnap one of the quints. Who’s gonna miss just one, anyway? That’s where the film really takes off as the two wannabe parents stumble to achieve a normal life. The premise is pretty clear, but it’s the assorted characters that give it its weird charm. There’s H. I.’s supervisor, his stupidly funny escaped con friends (one of which is played by John Goodman), and the terrifyingly filthy bounty hunter hot on the trail of the new “parents”. The film gives us some memorable moments (the Huggies/getaway scene is a great example), but it also gives us a bit of heart to go with it. Don’t misinterpret that: This is not a warm ooey-gooey baby movie. What it is is a glimpse into the life of some truly different film characters. But, then again, they’re probably no different from the people living right next door to you. You know, that weird couple with the kids?

OUR RATING— ***