Rating: 
Summary: Essential Film, Not To Be Missed, Inexplicably Hilarious!
Review: I've seen this movie countless times and it never loses its appeal. A classic of an almost undescribable nature, part comedy, part adventure, all fun. About a couple unable to conceive children who decide to take one of a highly telivised set of quintuplets off its parents hands (they have more than they can handle). A pair of dimwitted but generally kindhearted escaped convicts, a bounty hunter straight out of a Mad Max movie, a chase scene involving cops, a gun toting convenience store clerk, and lots and lots of dogs make for one hell of an entertaining movie. What adds more to the greatness of this film is the truly cerebral dialogue and the essence of morality in almost every character (no matter how shady they seem). A true classic from the 1980's if there ever was one if you haven't seen this movie you are missing a treat, if you have seen it then you know what others are missing!
Rating: 
Summary: Wear panty hose on your head and steal diapers!
Review: Joel and Ethan Coen bring a wonderful comedy into the world with Raising Arizona, probably their funniest film (Fargo is funny, but in a different sense). I loved the dialogue, the insanely mad situations, and the hilarious music. You'll probably be saying, "What the?!?" about a dozen times while watching this movie, and that's what makes this movie wonderful. The whole movie's crazy! My personal favorite scene is Glen's visit to Hi's trailer home. That scene(s) is so overflowing with hilarious dialogue you'll have to rewind the tape to catch it all. The Coens really tried to cram in as many jokes as they could in this movie, and the result is a grand comedy. It looks grainy sometimes, but that's just its style.Also contains a not-often talked about reference to Night of the Hunter, when Hi says, "Sometimes it's a hard world for little things." Did anybody else catch that? Look for the words "POE" and "OPE" in the bathroom, too. That's a tribute to Dr. Strangelove.
Rating: 
Summary: Had the Potential to be Better
Review: Although this movie had its funny moments and some very memorable lines and quotes, overall I thought it was mediocre. I'm normally a big fan of Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter, however this movie just didn't deliver. The plot was original and it could have had the potential at becoming a real classic, amusing film, however the hysteria overshadowed the entertainment value of it. There was too much predictable shrieking, screaming, and yelling that it just got annoying after awhile. I thought the worst part was towards the end when things just starting dragging on. Because it's a typical Hollywood movie, the storyline climaxes towards chaos and turmoil, but you can predict that in a typical fashion, there will be a few carchases, some yelling and screaming, some explosions, and then a happy ending (surprise). This movie could have been outstanding if the humor were more carefully thought out and skillfully crafted.
Rating:
Summary: funniest Coen brothers movie
Review: If you've come to be a fan of the Coen brothers by watching Fargo or O Brother Where Art Thou, be sure not to overlook their second movie, Raising Arizona. It's by far their funniest. H.I. (Nic Cage) is a reformed convenience-store robber who marries Edwina (Holly Hunter), a policewoman. They try to conceive a child, but with no luck. They become bitter and despondent. H.I.'s reformation ends when he and Edwina decide to kidnap one of the many infants of Nathan and Florence Arizona, a couple recently blessed with quintuplets. Hi's relationship with Edwina takes a turn for the worse when Gayle (John Goodman) and Evell (William Forsythe), freshly escaped from prison, invite him in on one of their schemes, a bank robbery. The baby's father, Nathan Arizona, then hires a bounty hunter to get the boy back. It's a madcap comedy from start to finish, but the pace just gets wilder and wilder as the movie progresses. This movie is chock full of hilarious dialogue and crazy action scenes. Absolutely none of it is believable; it's just an hour and a half of magnificent entertainment. All the actors get big laughs from me... possibly Frances McDormand most of all, as Dot, the jabbering lunatic wife of H.I.'s boss. If you're a fan of Coen Brothers movies at all, and you haven't seen this one, please do watch it. If you haven't seen any of their movies, Raising Arizona is probably the best place to start. ken32
Rating:
Summary: Did anyone else notice??
Review: Did anyone else notice that while H.I. (Nicolas Cage) was working in the sheet metal factory after being released from prison, the patch on his jumpsuit said "Hudsucker Industries"??
Rating:
Summary: Raising Heck
Review: The first five minutes are as funny and economical as any on record. The main characters reveal themselves hilariously, while Nicholas Cage's voice-over regales as classic understatement. The dialogue remains offbeat and original,with only occasional lapses. Cage and Hunter often sound as if they've watched too much Oprah, rambling on about the family "unit", or his description of her infertility as "insides too barren for my seed to get a purchase". With this film the Coen Bros. prove they can do comedy as expertly as melodrama, as does Cage, whose mix-master hairdo and bewildered expression reflect the social rules he just can't seem to get right. Only businessman Nathan Arizona remains a sane sensible voice throughout, a departure for the usually anti-business world of film. Almost stealing the show is William Forsythe as Evelle the quarter-wit brother of half-wit John Goodman. His gap-toothed grin and eternal high spirits amidst a starkly blank expression remind me of a demented Cheshire cat. The movie as a whole amounts to a light-hearted jape at family obsessed America, where by Hunter's logic some peoples has too many kids while others ain't got enough, so it's okay to take from them that has too many. Sort of like socialist logic applied to child distribution. On a more ominous note is a Keystone Cops indictment of gun-toting America, where too many civilians and cops alike come armed and ready to shoot, except Cage who reveals a benign inner nature by refusing to load. Only the epilogue and Randy Cobb disappoint. Cobb certainly looks the part of cartoon evil, but can't project the menace to go with it. With these dim but lovable characters, it's obvious the Bros. were at sea in figuring out how to end. It's as though they're suddenly embarassed with the liberties taken with the institution of family, so only a Norman Rockwell level of smarmy apology can compensate. Too bad, because the compensation is already there in the characters of H.I. and Ed (Cage & Hunter). Nonetheless, the movie remains fresh and rollicking, thrusting the Coens to the forefront of independent filmmakers, and presenting the audience with a good number of belly laughs along the way.
Rating:
Summary: Raw, Unvarnished Comedy -- Laughs Galore!
Review: One of the earlier films of the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan), "Raising Arizona" nevertheless lays the foundation for the Coens' later, more polished efforts. H.I. ("Hi") McDonough, played with an earnest romanticism by Nicolas Cage, is a classic Coen protagonist. He means well, even if he can't get his master plan to quite come together (this is a man of dreams, forced into the life of a small-time hood by trickle-down economics), and he is prone to speaking in fits of poetry that often go awry ("There's what's right and there's what's right, and never the twain shall meet"). In one of the most inspired courtings ever to be put on film, Hi woos and wins Police Officer Edwina ("Ed"), played by Holly Hunter in a career-defining role, while being booked on numerous occasions. Denied the joys of parenthood by Ed's infertile womb ("a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase") and Hi's criminal past - Ed's police service doesn't quite "cancel out" Hi's record like they had hoped -- Hi and Ed can't really enjoy their "salad days" in their trailer in the Arizona desert. That is, until the Arizona Quints are born to unpainted furniture magnate Nathan Arizona. Deciding that old Nathan and his wife have more kids than they could handle, Ed and Hi decide to kidnap one of the little nippers. In a scene that parodies "Jaws," Hi snags Nathan Jr., and Ed and Hi are parents. Unfortunately, Hi's criminal past catches up wtih him as Gale (John Goodman) and Evelle (William Forsythe) break out of prison and hide out with Hi at the family trailer. Soon they are on to Hi's kidnapping, and they decide to pursue their own agenda. Unfortunately for all concerned, bounty hunter Leonard Smalls is on the hunt for the kidnapped youngster, too -- and a nasty bloodhound from hell he is, too. Surely casting "Tex" Cobb in this part is one of the most inspired bits of casting ever! The movie is chock full of surprises, from the chase scenes involving what seems like ten packs of hounds and more gunfire than one could possibly imagine, to a fight in the trailer that won't be topped until "Kill Bill, Vol. 2," and an over-the-top cameo performance by Frances MacDormand as a nosy neighbor with a fondness for bibical names and a trove of baby advice. The dialogue is rich, filled with comic inspiration and a touching devotion to family. And, like most Coen brothers movies, things generally turn out all right for our heroes, they definitely don't wind up the way they planned. For fans of the Coens, off-beat comedies, Nic Cage and Holly Hunter (which should describe an awful lot of folks), this is a heck of a film.
Rating:
Summary: Did anyone else notice??
Review: Did anyone else notice that while H.I. (Nicolas Cage) was working in the sheet metal factory after being released from prison, the patch on his jumpsuit said "Hudsucker Industries"??
Rating:
Summary: Must rent for first time parents
Review: This video will be 50 times funnier to you if you've just had your first kid. Must rent for first time parents.
Rating:
Summary: Haiku
Review: Stealing diapers and
Babies, Cage's best ever.
Yodelling music.
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