Raising Arizona (1987)

Director: Joel Coen
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Holly Hunter

Shying away a bit from the violence that was portrayed three years ago in their first low-budget thriller, Blood Simple, the Coen brothers deliver a hopeless failure of a comedy with "Raising Arizona."
Raising Arizona is a Coen brothers film that seems to be missing everything that makes the Coen team great. It's a cliche-ridden, wacky comedy with nothing that we haven't seen before, and nothing that hasn't been beaten to death already. Unfortunately, this predictable little movie has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and, ironically, it isn't even very funny.
Nicholas Cage plays H.I. (or Hi as they call him), a low-life loser with a bizarre hobby of robbing conveniance stores. Going purely on visual attraction, he falls in love with Ed, short for Edwina, (Holly Hunter), the law enforcment officer who has taken his mug shot the past couple of times that he's been caught and brought to jail. After H.I. swears off performing his petty crimes and has finished his time in the joint, he and Ed get married and decide to start a family. But when H.I. finds out that his bride is incapable of bearing a child, the wild couple resorts to kidnapping one from Mr. Nathan Arizona, a rich shop-owner who happens to have five.
The plot sounds stupid on paper and so indeed it is. The film's got a few memorable characters, including one played by Coen Bros. favorite John Goodman as an irreverant fugitive, and Randall "Tex" cobb as the lone biker of the Apocalypse, equipped with duel shotguns and an arsenal of highly lethal artillary. But even sterling cameo appearances by talented sidemen can't save Raising Arizona. This is just an extremely disappointing movie.
Along with Scorsese, the Coen brothers are my favorite filmmakers, but if you are interested in their works, this is the last movie you should see, and only with low expectations. Treat yourself to the spectacular "Miller's Crossing" or "Fargo" instead.
-Jack Lewers

Rating-----4.75