Film

Raising Arizona

Name: Raising Arizona
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Released: 1987
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe

Comedy

A fever-dream fable about a childless couple who steal a baby from a furniture-store magnate, told at cartoon speed with Looney Tunes camera moves and Southern-gothic slang. It's the Coens at their most gleefully unhinged — broad, quotable, visually inventive, equal parts screwball farce and outlaw ballad. Great for anyone who wants comedy with real teeth and genuine visual imagination behind the jokes.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love screwball comedy with a crime-film backbone, where big characters talk fast, the camera zips around, and the chaos is delivered with real affection for its losers.

Skip it if you want restrained realism or slow-burning character drama, since the performances are loud, the tone is cartoonish, and the mood rarely settles for long.

What it asks of you: Under ninety-five minutes, it moves at a brisk clip and rewards close attention to its rapid dialogue and visual gags, with little pause for reflection.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Fargo1996

The Coens' other great crime comedy, swapping desert kitsch for Minnesota snow but keeping the same instinct — ordinary people making terrible decisions — turned colder and just as darkly funny.

But Much bleaker and more violent than Raising Arizona; the laughs come wrapped in real dread and body horror.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?2000

Same manic energy, Southern setting and quotable dialogue, this time following three escaped convicts on a shaggy-dog odyssey scored by bluegrass and loosely stitched to Homer.

But Looser and more picaresque than propulsive; if you wanted momentum, this one wanders more.

Blood Simple1985

The Coens' first film and the flip side of Arizona's cartoon logic — same Texas heat and visual wit, but played as lean, nasty noir instead of comedy.

But Almost no jokes; this is tense and mean where Arizona is warm and silly.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Raising Arizona

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

It Happened One Night1934

Raising Arizona is a crime plot wearing a screwball comedy's clothes; this is the screwball comedy that set the template — the mismatched pair, the runaway energy, the machine-gun talk.

The film that basically invented the screwball rhythm Raising Arizona borrows wholesale — a runaway heiress, a wisecracking man, a road trip that turns into a courtship, all at Capra's nimblest.

But Black-and-white 1930s pacing and manners; there's no crime plot, just charm and banter.

The Big Lebowski1998

Another shaggy crime plot hijacked by lovable idiots, with the same rubber-band dialogue and camera tricks — just swap the desert for bowling alleys and Vietnam-era grievance.

But More stoned meander than caper; you'll need patience for the tangents.

Burn After Reading2008

A later, meaner Coen farce about idiots colliding with espionage instead of infants — same delight in watching a simple plan collapse spectacularly.

But Colder and more cynical; nobody here is as lovable as H.I. and Ed.

Ruthless People1986

An '80s screwball kidnapping comedy with the same rapid-fire silliness and a plot that keeps outsmarting its own criminals — pure high-concept farce done right.

But Broader, glossier studio comedy; lacks the Coens' visual flourish and regional texture.

Nebraska2013

Same deadpan Midwestern eccentrics and dry family comedy, but slowed way down and shot in aching black-and-white — proof the material can go tender instead of frantic.

But Almost no plot momentum; if you want chases and mayhem, look elsewhere.

Napoleon Dynamite2004

Shares the deadpan oddball humor and small-town-weirdos-as-heroes spirit, just turned all the way down to teenage awkwardness instead of outlaw chaos.

But Much smaller scale and slower pace; the humor is quieter and stranger.

Pineapple Express2008

A dumber, stonier cousin with the same runaway-plot energy and outlandish criminal mishaps, just trading Southern gothic for stoner slapstick.

But Broader and cruder, with none of the Coens' craft or affection for its characters.

Delicatessen1991

Same warped, off-kilter household logic and visual invention as the Coens' style, just filtered through French absurdist cinema instead of Southern gothic — proof the tone travels.

A French fever-dream comedy with the same cartoon camera angles and grotesque tenderness — an apartment building of oddballs scheming around a butcher, shot like a live-action cartoon.

But Subtitled and genuinely strange; the humor is stranger and more macabre than anything in Arizona.

A Simple Plan1998

Strip the comedy out of Raising Arizona's premise — ordinary people, a windfall that isn't theirs, a scheme spiraling out of control — and you get this, its dead-serious mirror image.

Take the exact same engine — ordinary Midwesterners keep something that isn't theirs and watch their lives unravel — and play it dead straight. A gutting reminder of what's at stake under the jokes.

But No laughs at all; this is a slow-burn tragedy, grim where Arizona is gleeful.