Film REVIEW: Raising Arizona (1987) - ★★★★

Mix Up Theatre (Stewart)

3 hours ago

2 min read

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman.

Genre: Comedy, Crime

Themes: Arizona, Parenthood, Robbery

When a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.

Raising Arizona received mixed reviews at the time of its release, with some criticizing it as too self-conscious, manneristic, and unclear as to whether it was fantasy or realism, while others praised the film for its originality. Retrospective reviews are generally more favorable, and it is now considered to be a cult classic.

MIX UP REVIEWS:

Sam (Age 13) - ★★★★

"An incompetent smalltime thief (Nicolas Cage) falls in love with a police officer (Holly Hunter) and they find out they can’t have children. When they hear that a local businessman and his wife have had quintuplets, they think that one wouldn’t be missed and they steal it. What could possibly go wrong? Simple answer – everything in this fast-paced and very funny Coen Brothers movie. It is full of rapid-fire scenes, dramatic close-ups and sometimes even feels like a western with its menacing bountyhunter from hell roaring up on his motorbike. There is a great prison escape where John Goodman holds his arms up in the pouring rain. It looked like a parody of Shawshank Redemption until I realised that Shawshank Redemption hadn’t been made yet."