Raising Arizona
From Free net encyclopedia
Current revision
Raising Arizona is a quirky, offbeat, and humorous 1987 Coen Brothers film starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, William Forsythe, John Goodman, Frances McDormand, and Randall "Tex" Cobb. Not a blockbuster at the time of its release, it has since achieved the status of a cult film. Typical Coen Brothers fare, the eccentric movie is replete with pseudo-symbolism, visual gags, yodeling folk music, unconventional characters, masterful camera work, and redneck dialogue.
Contents |
Plot synopsis
Arizona recidivist petty criminal H.I. (Hi) McDonnough (Cage) and police officer Edwina (Ed) McDonnough (played by Hunter) meet after she takes several jail mugshots of Hi. They soon fall in love and get married when Hi promises to reform.
After serious attempts, Ed discovers that she is infertile. The couple cannot adopt because of Hi's criminal record. Upon learning of the birth of the "Arizona Quints", Hi and Ed decide to kidnap one of the five babies. Everything goes haywire when Hi tries to steal the baby from his crib. Somehow, babies end up crawling in all different directions. Hi goes back to the car telling Ed that it was an impossible mission. She refuses to let him into the car unless he goes back and gets a baby. He finally goes back and picks Nathan Junior.
Hi's new family life goes well until he is visited by his former prison inmate chums Gale (Goodman) and Evelle (Forsythe). Under Gale and Evelle's influence, Hi reverts to his felonious ways, leading him to see that Ed and he are not very well suited for each other.
Hi decides to steal diapers from a gas station and is soon chased by a cashier and many policemen. Ed leaves Hi on his own during this chase because she has had enough of his criminal ways. Soon he has a pack of dogs and even more police running after him. Cars are spinning and guns are firing. Ed finally decides to pick Hi up, but it is a tense ride home.
One afternoon, Glen (Sam McMurray), Hi's ex-boss, stops by and threatens to take Junior. Hi had punched Glen a few days earlier because Glen said that he wanted to date Ed, even though he already had a wife. Glen read in the newspaper about the kidnapped quint and decided to make Hi give him the baby for himself. When Glen is telling Hi all of this, Gale and Evelle are eavesdropping in the background.
Gale and Evelle decide to take Junior away on their adventure of robbing a bank. Ed comes home and realizes that the baby is gone and is angry and heartbroken. Ed and Hi decide to search for him.
Meanwhile, finding police efforts to recover his baby inadequate, Nathan Arizona Sr. (Trey Wilson), the quints' father, retains the services of beefy, menacing biker Leonard Smalls (Cobb) to perform the task.
Gale and Evelle rob the bank and end up leaving Junior on the road beside where their car was parked. The Lone Biker finds Gale and Evelle, who soon lead Smalls to Junior. Right before Ed and Hi can snatch up the baby, Smalls beats them to it, turning his bike around to fight them. Ed goes for the baby while Hi distracts Smalls from hurting her. Junior is now in Ed's possession while Hi and Smalls have it out. The biker hits Hi and throws him everywhere. He then drags him out from underneath a truck, and he chokes him. The biker finally dies after Hi pulls the pin out of his hand grenade. All that is left of Smalls is a pair of burnt baby shoes. Smalls had mentioned to Nathan, Sr. that he too had been abducted as a baby and sold on the black market. On the soundtrack, as the flaming shoes fall to the ground, one can hear the cries of a baby.
Gale and Evelle return to jail and Hi and Ed return Nathan Jr. to his parents. Even though they had so much love to give him, they end up doing the right thing. They do realize that all they need is each other, but this is not until Nathan Arizona Sr. tells them that even if they never have a baby, they will always have each other. When they explain that they are too selfish for each other, he tells them that they must have some good points because they are giving him his little boy back. Through thick and thin, Ed and Hi's love is enough.
In the end, as Hi sleeps, he has a dream in which he and Ed have been happily married for many years and have many kids. The movie ends with a rendition of Bob Nolan's folksong Way Out There.
Theme
Love is the only thing needed to get through any of life's obstacles. Ed and H.I. go through many misadventures with things always getting in their way, but in the end, they realize that their love for each other is all that they really need. One of the main things that get in their way is the simple fact that they do not think they belong together. It is not until H.I. has one of his undeniably realistic dreams that he realizes everything will work out and that they will always be together.
Symbolism
The intense fighting scenes at the end of the movie between H.I. and the Lone Biker illustrate that the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse is a symbol of H.I.'s own evil and bad attributes. There are two shots of H.I. and the Lone Biker that are just alike. First, there is a scene where the Lone Bike drags H.I. out form underneath the car and a scene where Hi pulls a baby out from underneath the crib.
Second, there is a scene where H.I. opens the Lone Biker's shirt only to reveal the same tattoo of Mr. Horsepower as he has on his own chest. These scenes are a sort of flashbacks that reiterate all of the bad things that H.I. has done or been. The Lone Biker blowing up symbolizes the end of H.I.'s evil ways. The scene immediately after the explosion, when there is nothing left but fried baby shoes, is very symbolic. The baby shoes being the only thing left by the Lone Biker mean that he is still going to have great love no matter what. In the end, it seems as if Hi was getting in the way of himself and his love for Ed all along.
On an unrelated note, the Lone Biker's given name, Leonard Smalls, is the same as the dimwitted but incredibly strong character in Of Mice and Men. Like the character Lenny in Steinbeck's novel, the Lone Biker is, due to his harsh upbringing (his tattoo reads "Mama Didn't Love Me"), incapable of touching something helpless without harming it.
Cast
- Nicolas Cage- H.I. McDonnough
- Holly Hunter- Ed McDonnough
- John Goodman- Gale Snoats
- William Forsythe- Evelle Snoats
- Frances McDormand- Dot
- Randall 'Tex' Cobb- Leonard Smalls (The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse)
- Trey Wilson- Nathan Arizona Sr.
- Sam McMurray- Glen
- T.J. Kuhn- Nathan Arizona Jr.
- Lynne Dumin Kitei- Florence Arizona
- Warren Keith- FBI Agent
Quotes
- H.I.:The doctor explained that her insides were a rocky place, where my seed could find no purchase.
- Dot: You take that diaper off your head; you put it back on to your sister.
- Smalls: Name's Smalls. Leonard Smalls. My friends call me Lenny... only I ain't got no friends.
- Smalls: You wanna find an outlaw, you call an outlaw; you wanna find a Dunkin' Donuts, call a cop.
- Evelle: Mighty good cereal flakes, Mrs. McDonough.
- Gale: So many social engagements, so little time.
- Evelle: Work's what's kept us happy.
- Evelle: What's he need, his diptet?
- Gale: Ma'am, we sure never meant to influence anybody. Evelle: And if we did, we're sorry.
- From H.I.'s dream: And it seemed real. It seemed like us. And it seemed like well... our home... If not Arizona, then a land, not too far away, where all parents are strong and wise and capable, and all children are happy and beloved... I dunno, maybe it was Utah.
- Hayseed in the Pickup: Son, you got a panty on your head.
- Ed: "You mean you busted out of jail!!" Gale: "Waaaal..." Evelle: "We released ourselves on our own recognizance." Gale: "What Evelle means to say is, we felt the institution no longer had anything to offer us."
- Ed: "Gimme that baby, you warthog from hell!"
- Ed: "We finally go out with some decent people and you break his nose. That ain't too funny, Hi." H.I.: "His kids seemed to think it was funny." Ed: "Well they're just kids, you're a grown man with responsibilities."
- H.I.: "Over there's the TV. Two hours a day maximum, either educational or football so's you don't ruin your appreciation of the finer things."
Trivia
Grossed $22,800,000 in the box office.
In several scenes, including when H.I. meets with the parole board, a portrait of Barry Goldwater is visible in the background. Goldwater ran for President in 1964 as a Republican and was a U.S. Senator from Arizona for many years. He is considered one of the most famous people in Arizona history.
The police station scenes were filmed at the Tempe, Arizona police station on 5th Street next to Sun Devil Stadium on the Arizona State University campus.
The family picnic where H.I. punches Glen was filmed at the Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, Arizona.
When H.I. McDonnough goes to work in a factory, his chatty co-worker (a cameo by M. Emmet Walsh) can be seen wearing a jumpsuit with the label, "Hudsucker Industries", which may have been an inspiration for the title of the Coen brothers' later film, The Hudsucker Proxy.
Public Reception
Raising Arizona was not a box office hit right away. However, it has won critical acclaim from many of its viewers for being their favorite movie. There are not any questions left unanswered, it is humorous beyond belief, and there is a valuable message of love and care that goes along with it. Many would consider the Coen brothers just short of genius for writing this film. It is an exciting film filled with hope and laughter and can easily be watched over and over again.
Template:Footer Movies Joel and Ethan Coen