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Raising Arizona (1987)
I keep my opinon of of Nicolas Cage no secret. If Cage can have a career that's supposedly built on "talent" then it should give hope to everyone out there aspiring to become an actor that they too have a shot. But I highly doubt Cage's career is built on anything but luck and the fact that he happens to be the nephew of famed director Francis Ford Coppola. The fact is Nicolas Cage goes through movie scripts almost as fast as he spends the cash he quickly makes off of them. So it's of no surprise to me that some of his earlier work is almost as bad as his recent selections.
Raising Arizona is a perfect example of why infertility is sometimes not such a bad thing. It's natures way of weeding out a red neck police officer who marries a red neck ex-con from procreating and spawning more illiterate, unintelligent rascals. Nicolas Cage is H.I. McDunnough an ex-con who marries Edwina (Holly Hunter) the police officer who continually takes his mug shots every time he's brought in for robbing a convenient store. Eventually H.I. decides to get his life together and marries Edwina, they move out into the Arizona desert and are quite the happy couple, that is until Edwina discovers she can't have children.
They try to adopt, but because of H.I.'s checkered past no one will approve them, so they decide to steal a baby from Nathan Arizona of Unpainted Arizona Furniture whose wife had five babies, Edwina figured they didn't need all of them. So begins Raising Arizona, a film that quickly begins to lose it's point if there ever was one, as stolen baby Nathan Jr. goes on a wild ride from one red neck to another. Ultimately the film attempts to end on some sentimental note, but I was either too bored or too confused by the film as a whole to really pay to much attention.
Truthfully Raising Arizona is one of those strange "comedies" you got to have a taste for, pure and simple. It was funny at times, but for the most part I was more blown away by the pure mess of the film, which supposedly is referred to as "quirky" by connoisseurs of the cult comedy. The story is a mess, the characters are a mess, and the acting could have been pulled off by anyone capable of a half way decent red neck accent. Simply put the kid (Nathan Jr.) steals the show and gives a better performance than anyone else in the film and he wasn't even trying! Overall, I know quite a few people love this type of incoherent "quirky" comedy, but for me Raising Arizona is only another glaring example of the kind of talent Nicolas Cage really has which is quirky roles where no talent is needed.
Quirky does indeed seem to be the new term for mess. This was definitely a mess. My apologies for picking it. I usually have much better taste!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely the worst comedy I've seen in a half century of movie watching. Giving this a 5 is charitable. Easily Nick Gage's worst movie.
ReplyDelete@Paul - yea I probably was a little generous, although I've seen much worse. I've also never been a Nick Cage fan so most of he stuff is pretty mediocre in my opinon.
ReplyDeleteI accidentally stumbled on this review during a Google search. This review is worst kind of pseudo-critical tripe that's typically posted by pop-culture critic-wannabees.
ReplyDeleteYou and your fellow club members obviously wouldn't know a good comedy if it bit you in the ass. Your coffee-klatch-style review, delivered with a steaming dollop of smug, self-assuredness is the literary leavings of someone who either clearly doesn't know what they're talking about, or is just plain lazy.
Does "common-sense reviews" mean "stemming from ignorance" when it comes to knowing how to critically review a movie?
You cast aspersions on an actor's career (easy target) and then complain that you "don't get it" when it comes to the humour.
For the person who hasn't seen this movie, this review just this side of utterly useless; for anyone who actually has seen this movie, this review is pretty funny itself. Hilarious in fact.. ..oh wait - NOW I get it.
Oh, and Paul: "Face/Off" is Nicholas Cage's worst movie. John Woo out-Wooed himself. Travolta was merely there to make Cage's acting look good by comparison.
ReplyDeleteNo wait; "Peggy Sue Got Married". Cage pulls out all the stops and assumes this incredible alter-ego persona that is nothing like that same guy he plays in nearly all his other movies; but the character is a snivelling, posturing loser with nothing for the audience to empthasize with.
No, it's definitely "Bangkok Dangerous". White man go to backward nation, fall in love, then kill everybody.
NO, IT'S GOTTA BE "ADAPTATION"!! The loser is back, only nobody's getting married, driving a convertible, or singing doo-wop. Just masturbating.
I'd sooner stick forks in your eyes than see that one again. What? ..you thought that I'd stick the forks in MY eyes? Well, that's just crazy.
@Anonymous - well I'm glad my review could at least bring you some entertainment in whatever form you see it. But I'm sorry you're either too cowardly or don't find your argument/attack valid enough too actually attach a name to it.
ReplyDeleteStill in the end it's just a film, and whether you agree with me or not no film is worth attacking and name calling over, I surely have better things to do than get into that. So if you want to have a realistic conversation feel free to comment again, but leave your narcissistic attitude at the door because frankly no one takes Anonymous posters and their flaming comments seriously, so your only wasting your own time.