Raising Arizona

1987 • 94 minutes

About this movie

H.I. McDonnough is a multiple-convicted armed robber who falls in love with Edwina, a young policewoman who takes his mug shots.  They end up getting married, with H.I. vowing to stop robbing convenience stores.  They try to start a family, but Ed finds out that she is barren.  Since they can't adopt, due to H.I's extensive record, their marriage is going nowhere. Ed goes into a severe depression until she sees an item in the news saying Nathan Arizona, owner of a chain of unpainted furniture stores, has become the father of quintuplets.  Mr. and Mrs. Arizona have been blessed with quintuplets, after Florence Arizona's fertility treatment.  Desperate, Ed convinces H.I. that the Arizonas wouldn't miss one of their babies, having been blessed with so many.  H.I. and Ed kidnap one of the infants, figuring that they'll have a baby and the Arizonas will have less of a load.  Complications arise, when H.I.'s convict friends and his boss also become involved in the scheme to possess...

Ratings and reviews

In my top 5 of all time. The Coen brothers are at their comedic best. The screenplay and direction are genius. The casting was perfect and the cast played their parts masterfully. Little touches like the under the crib perspective when H.I. is wrangling the quints played out again later when H.I. is crawling under the truck in the parking lot to escape Smalls the bounty hunter, make this one a true gem. The brothers weave an incredible tale of persistence and hope. They capture the true sadness and reality of infertility faced by many couples while simultaneously managing to keep a ridiculously funny story cohesive and believable, with a combination of dark comedy, slapstick, and rapier wit that only the Coen brothers could have imagined. A must see for anyone who appreciates the brothers' incredible movie making creativity poured into a redemptive theme.

In this classic adaption of a millennial disagreeing with a peers opinion, we see a presumably mid 20s male thrust his fury upon a films rating. Our antagonist seems to be unable to grasp the concept of elaboration and further informs readers just how much he dislikes the film. He exclaims how he " no longer respects " his peers taste in films, with zero explanation. After reading his heart felt review, I still left wanting more. I am sad to say, I give his review, a one star rating out of five.

This is by far the funniest Coen Brothers movie ever. Oh Brother is second. My wife and I have watched this movie many times laughing throughout the movie. This is not low brow comedy. If you watch this and don't get it, you'd better just watch Roadhouse or Smoky and the Bandit.