Raising Arizona: Classic or overrated?

Now that we're compiling our list of Best Comedies of the 80s, the first real issue has been tossed into the murky soup: Is Raising Arizona worthy of the honor?

Confession: I'm not a fan of the 1987 flick starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter. And I can't put a finger on why. I like Nic Cage. I like Holly Hunter. And I like other movies by the Coen brothers.

Here's my theory:

-- In '87, I was in college and probably still enjoying John Hughes' teen movies a little too much for my age. ("Some Kind of Wonderful" came out that year. Classic.)

-- I really don't like any movie that features southern accents. (Do they have southern accents in Arizona?) Growing up in Florida (which I maintain is NOT part of the South), I bristle at the twang so largely identified with this part of the world. (Side theory: Are all movies with southern accents also "chick flicks?" ... Fried Green Tomatoes ... Steel Magnolias. Think about it.)

-- Nic Cage makes one good movie for every 10 bad ones. I count on one hand the movies with him that I enjoy (Valley Girl, Leaving Las Vegas, Moonstruck, City of Angels, Racing with the Moon). So the odds were against him already.

-- Not a huge fan of prison movies either. Except Shawshank Redemption. ("Get busy living, or get busy dying." )

I know, I know. Stupid reasons. So give me some good reasons to put it high on the list and you shall have your great reward.

Comments

[Carly Corday]

As for the Southern accents, I think the Coen brothers may have Arizona confused with Oklahoma. Okies speak just like Texans (I should know, I am both), yet Oklahoma is often lumped in with the deserty states next door to it. I kind of wish it had been set in the badlands and Black Mesa region of the Oklahoma Panhandle so the Southernisms would seem more rational. The movie was better WITH the accents, I can't really say why. But there is always the question while you watch: WHY are they talking that way in Arizona?

[Carly Corday]

Clllllllllllllllllllllassic!!

I loved this movie so much, boo-hooo-hooo!! I own a copy! Loved it, loved it, can watch it again, and again!

Anyone calling it "overrated" is a self-important hypoglycemic nincompoop. A regular snot is all you are, sort of like my brother, who in the early 1990's, dared to call Dean Koontz the "poor man's Stephen King." This is the talk of narcissists. You people don't know what's good. Furthermore, nobody likes you. HAHAHA! Ahem.

Having grown up in Arizona - I can tell you that Arizonans definitely do not have southern accents (living in a mobile home has nothing to do with whether you have a southern accent contrary to what one brilliant person suggest above). Native Arizonans have the same non-regional accent as California and other western states. The Coens obviously used the accents to make these people seem more ignorant, stupid, rural, and low class - pretty much an insult to both the south and AZ if you ask me.

[Chris]

I can not imagine you not liking this movie. Personally it is my favorite comedy of all times. It is an acquired taste though. Just so you know you don't have to worry about Florida being considered part of the south; we definately don't claim you as part of the south either.

[Laura]

This movie was great!!! MY sister, brothers ans I quote lines from this movie all the time.
"Don't you cuss around that baby"

Great stuff

[Anonymous]

best chase scene ever (after the blues brothers, but that was a '70s movie, right, even though it came out in 1980?!)...

[Anonymous]

It's a full four stars. Love Raising Arizona

[bambam89]

No good reason to put it high on the list!

[Steve Spears]

Oh no ... my inner mental scars have been revealed for all. (Sobbing uncontrollably into a bowl of Count Chocula cereal...) It's true: I'm only comfortable with who I was 20 years ago (and I only achieved that last year). I figure I'll be ok with who I am now come the year 2026. So check back with the blog then -- maybe then I'll like Raising Arizona.

[Anonymous]

Steve, Could it be that your problem with the movie is that being comfortable with who you really are is a significant theme? Florida is in the South.

[Rick Gershman]

Well, you know how I feel since I started this damn discussion.So yeah: Great movie. Hilarious, and furthermore, hilarious.Seacrest out.

[Anonymous]

I argee with Steve. The movie is not funny. Neither Arizona nor Florida counts as the South, and the Coen brothers made much better movies. It is an enormous relief to see that I was not the only one who never liked this film. I used to feel like a bit of a mutant for being the only one I knew who didn't love it.

[Ed]

In our family, this movie is the litmus test of whether girlfriends and boyfriends are allowed "in" or not (but I am NOT talkin' wife swappin', you T-I-G-E-R's). It is a very polarizing movie; you either love it or you hate it. But people who hate it... I just can't get with these people. And yes, Arizona IS a southern state as is FL. After all, how can they not be when AZ and FL are #1 and #2 in mobile homes in the US?"Do these balloons blow up into funny shapes?""Only if you think round is funny."

[Anonymous]

W.C. Fields had it right in re: dogs & kids. Any movie that prominently features either isn't worth a rat's patoo. And I'm lookin' at you, Benji.Thus: Raising Arizona = THE most overrated movie of the 80s.And since I was the one who suggested Weird Al in the first place, I would be happy to endorse a Dr. Demento podcast. He was far more influential than a lot of folks (nee cultural snobs) would care to admit.

[topcad]

I hated this movie when I first saw it at the theatre. But to grew to enjoy it immensly after repeated viewings. I think perhaps, it's the extreme level of absurdity that has to be witnessed again and again in order to appreciate it. "...and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."

[Anonymous]

HEY, someone had a great idea you should really build on ... the suggestion was for a Weird Al podcast ... I'd go a step further: A DOCTOR DEMENTO PODCAST ...The doc rocks .. I spent every Sunday night in 8th and 9th grade staying up way past my bedtime, sneaking a radio into bed with me so I could listen from 10 p.m. to mindnight on WCOZ Boston .. Oh, man, great stuff ... --chase

[Bassnote]

I'm in the minority with Steve. I did not like this movie at all.

[Anonymous]

Any movie that features a rabbit getting blown up by a hand grenade should be automatically included in any "Classic" list.

[Ben]

I enjoyed it, it was before my cognative years but I remember my dad renting it on VHS (remember that) and I found some things funny. The part where they are taking the baby is very suspensful as well.

[Anonymous]

I had heard about this movie from friends who knew my taste in films pretty well. They kept telling me I should see it but I missed it in the original theatrical release. I finally caught the last 1/3rd of it on cable one afternoon and was hooked. I had to see the whole thing. I probably went out and bought a copy on laserdisk that afternoon! From the hokey soundtrack to the bizarre characters (let's not forget John Goodman pulling his "baby brother" out of that mudhole by his hair!) to the great camera work, it's one of the few films that I've seen in the last couple of decades that stopped me dead in my tracks...."hope to say". ;)Steve, if you don't change your tune on THIS one, I'm going to fade your mic down when you least expect it!!Engineer Dave (not wearing a panty on my head, either)

[Tonka]

I think this should post should have been "Tex Cobb's best work: Raising Arizona or Ace Ventura, Pet Detective?" ha ha

[Razor9Edge]

A classic Cohen's movie! It's the crazy dialog which makes it so funny.Without "Raising Arizona" there would be no "My Name is Earl".It has been my past experience that this movie is very polarizing -- either people love it or hate it (or love to hate it).

[Anonymous]

holly hunter's performance was great! her character's over-emotional crying jags were hysterical. plus, the opening scene is great where they have to pick up diapers - well, you know the rest.