For every fan of independent films, there at least have to be one film they loved from Joel & Ethan Coen. Every film of theirs had some sort of quirkiness and regulars that tackles every sort of genre in film from comedy to drama. In 1985, the Coen Brothers made their first film Blood Simple, a horror-like flick starring regular and Joel Coen's future wife Frances McDormand was a cult hit with critics and moviegoers. Two years later, the brothers made their sophomore effort that would not only become a surprise hit but the film that would solidify the name of the Coen Brothers, Raising Arizona.

Raising Arizona is a hilarious story about an ex-convict loser and his ex-cop wife learning that they can't have children till they heard about an unpainted furniture entrepreneur who just gained a set of quintuplets. They kidnap and try to raise it as their own while dealing with fellow friends, the authorities, and a biker from hell. Written, produced, directed by the Coen Brothers (though Joel is credited as the director and Ethan as the producer), Raising Arizona is a fun, silly film with hilarious pop culture references and plots that just keeps on getting funnier. Starring Nicolas Cage, William Forsythe, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Trey Wilson, Sam McMurray, and future Coen Brothers regulars Frances McDormand, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, and M. Emmet Walsh, Raising Arizona is the first of many great films from the Coen Brothers.

The film begins about a loser convict named H.I. McDunnough (Nicolas Cage), who had just been busted for robbing a convenience store. While taking his mug shot, he meets up with cop Edwina "Ed" (Holly Hunter) and he falls for her. Every time he goes to prison and gets paroled, he robs another convenience store just to meet up with Ed. H.I. thinks Ed is the reason to go straight as they finally marry and live in a nice, suburban trailer park where he got a job at a metal factory with a talkative man (M. Emmet Walsh).

H.I. refers to the early days of his marriage with Ed as the salad days as they decide to go for a child. Unfortunately, Ed is barren and can't conceive a child as she and H.I. get desperate to try and adopt children but his criminal records won't let them adopt children. She quits her police job and loses hope as they find the news that Nathan Arizona Sr. (Trey Wilson), a local entrepreneur of unpainted furniture, and his wife Florence (Lynne Dunum Kitel) just gained a set of quintuplets. H.I. and Ed thought it's more that they could handle and decided to steal one.

At the Arizona home, the Arizonas wonder what is the noise going on upstairs as H.I. is trying to see which one is the best and one of the babies would crawl away from the crib. H.I. leaves as Florence comes to check on them making Ed angry and tells him not to come back until he gets one. He does, he picks Nathan Jr. (T.J. Kuhn), as Ed is overwhelmed with joy saying, "I love him so much". H.I. and Ed show Nathan Jr. their little trailer home as they're both overcome with joy as H.I. thinks he's a good little outlaw as Ed asks H.I. if he would be responsible with Nathan Jr. around. H.I. says he would as he hopes to become the best daddy of Arizona.

Miles away at a prison, two convicts escape through the muddy ground outside of prison, they are Gale (John Goodman) and Evelle Snouts (William Forsythe). Gale screams his way out as he pulls Evelle out as they successfully break out of prison and find H.I., to the dismay of Ed. The Snouts decide just to live with H.I. for a couple of days just to hide from the authorities as H.I. gets a nightmare about a biker from hell Leonard Smalls (Randall "Tex" Cobb) who likes to kill nice little animals with grenades and a shotgun as H.I. dreamt of the scream from Florence Arizona. The news of the missing baby reaches the state, as Nathan Sr. is upset at the FBI pillaging his house and not really doing anything to find Nathan Jr. His wife meanwhile left home with the other kids, Larry, Garry, Barry, and Harry.

The Snouts eat breakfast with Nathan Jr. as H.I. asks if they would leave for a few hours since some people are coming over to see the new baby and the Snouts do. Coming over was H.I.'s foreman Glen (Sam McMurray), his wife Dot (Frances McDormand), and their little pack of kids. Dot tells Ed about all the things they need for a kid like a college fund and all of this stuff, which makes H.I., feels more like a loser while he has to endure the lame Polack jokes from Glen. Glen then suggests the idea of wife swapping to H.I., which angers him and beats up Glen.

Ed is upset over what happened as she wonders how they're going to raise Nathan Jr. as they decide to go pick up some Huggies diapers. H.I. decides to rob the store with a pantyhose on his head as he tells the clerk "I'll be taking them Huggies and whatever cash you got" as Ed sees and she gets angry and drives off as H.I. is forced to chased by the cops and clerk in a hilarious chase scene where he later gets followed by dogs and all of this stuff.

H.I. reaches Ed, as she is angry over what he is doing as they pick up the Huggies and she wanted the Snouts to leave the trailer by tomorrow. The Snouts decided to since it was the right time for their biggest heist to date, a bank robbery and they wanted H.I. in the game. He's unsure if he wants to since he really loves Ed and on the morning of the robbery, Glen comes by to tell him that he knows the baby is Nathan Jr. and that makes the Snouts beat up H.I. so they can use Nathan Jr. as collateral.

The Snouts treat little Nathan like one of their own, as they get ready to rob the bank. Meanwhile, Leonard Smalls pays a visit to see Nathan Sr. as he suspects that he has the child as Smalls pursues everything concerning Nathan Jr. The Snouts rob the bank and get all the money but accidentally left Nathan Jr. as the robbery goes bust while Ed got her badge back as she wonders if her future with H.I. is hopeless while she wonders what she did was wrong about Nathan Jr. as they battle Smalls in a showdown.

What makes Raising Arizona a Coen Brothers film is its eccentric tone and energy. Every line and scene is always offbeat somewhat and features some sort of reference of past or future Coen Brothers film including a reference to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead which Joel was an editor in that film. The film's script features hilarious one-liners and stupid jokes while the direction is top-notch in its absurdity, notably the chase scene that is shot wonderfully by future blockbuster filmmaker Barry Sonnefeld along with the fast-paced editing of the Coens Bros.' alias Roderick Jaynes. Even the film'a music is quirky, notably the yodeling Western stuff and the suspenseful music of Smalls composed by longtime Coen Brothers collaborator Carter Burwell.

Then there's the inspiring cast of Raising Arizona. Nicolas Cage is amazing as the loser, cartoon-like H.I. who keeps putting out great one-liners and performs amazing physical comedy as he looks like a demented stick figure. Holly Hunter is a joy to watch as she plays a hard-nosed woman who wants everything perfect while she too, pulls a funny scene or two including her confrontation with Smalls. Randal "Tex" Cobb is menacing and downright funny as Smalls who brings fear to the audience, especially when he kills a bunny rabbit, a lizard, and a flower.

The late Trey Wilson is hilarious as Nathan Sr. while Sam McMurray, M. Emmet Walsh, and Frances McDormand standout in their respective characters, notably McDormand who was so loud in the film; it's easy to forget that she can be funny. William Forsythe has funny moments as Evelle Snouts while the best performance overall goes to John Goodman as Gale Snouts who just comes up with hilarious lines and of course, the screams which is a must have in a Coen Brothers film. Finally, credit should be given to the 15 babies who played the quintuplets who were so darn cute!

Raising Arizona is a hilarious, eccentric comedy from the Coen Brothers. With a great cast, Carter Burwell's score, Barry Sonnefeld's cinematography, and the strange vision of Joel & Ethan Coen, it's one of the best films from the Coen Brothers. It's hard to pick a favorite film by the Coen Brothers whether it's the film-noir The Man Who Wasn't There, the gangster film Miller's Crossing, the dramtic feel of Barton Fink and their 1996 masterpiece Fargo , the Odyssey adaptation of O Brother, Where Art Thou? and my personal favorite, The Big Lebowski. Raising Arizona is up there with many of their films. It's a great introduction to the movies of the Coen Brothers. For some fun and cute babies, Raising Arizona is the film for you.

Coen Brother Film Reviews: Blood Simple - Miller's Crossing - Barton Fink - (The Hudsucker Proxy) - Fargo - The Big Lebowski - O Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Man Who Wasn't There - (Intolerable Cruelty) - (The Ladykillers (2004 remake)) - The Man Who Wasn't There - Burn After Reading - A Serious Man

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older