Raising Arizona

Right now you can watch Raising Arizona in Australia on Disney Plus — and it is funnier than its reputation suggests. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. 2,356 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Watch it for Nicolas Cage — stay for everyone else around them. Start it on Disney Plus whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Raising Arizona arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The jokes in Raising Arizona land because the characters underneath them are worth caring about. When a childless couple—an ex-con and an ex-cop—take one of a wealthy family’s quintuplets to raise as their own, their lives grow more complicated than anticipated. Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1987. Raising Arizona earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For viewers who want something light without wanting something stupid, Raising Arizona respects your intelligence. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Nicolas Cage's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.