MovieChat Forums > Raising Arizona (1987) Discussion > A horrible portrayal of Arizona.

A horrible portrayal of Arizona.

posted 19 years ago by shocker-9
169 replies | jump to latest

I didn't find "Raising Arizona" funny at all.

It was a senseless film that depicted people from Arizona as being rural hayseed types. Most Arizonans live in urban areas, and don't talk like hicks.

They got a starter home in "suburban Tempe" - which showed a few little trailers in the middle of a desert. In reality, Tempe is a suburb of Phoenix with a very active nightlife, and a diverse population of many ethnic cultures. It's not anything at all like it's portrayed in the movie.

According to H.I.'s narration, the Arizona quints were the biggest thing to hit the state since the Hoover Dam. Personally, I'd like to hit the director of this idiotic film with something big!

How this movie earned big bucks at the box office and beyond, I'll never understand the reasons.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] chris043 18 years ago

My dad used to work in the oil fields of southern California near Arizona, and he says that the accents in the movie are identical to the ones he heard down there.

[–] washcloud 18 years ago

Since some here seem to be too sensitive abt their place of origin,here's an opinion of somebody totally impartial (im greek AT greece) :
"Raising Arizona" never made me feel sorry or worse yet disgusted abt the region the story supposedly took place at...So no chance im gonna write off Arizona as a destination,should i ever have the chance of visiting the US..On the contrary,i might as well put it high on the list..Why?Cause id wanna see the state that this movie is connected with..cause sure it was a GREAT movie..
I CAN understand why some 'd be provoked by the exaggerations or even false references(geographical,cultural n so on)of a movie(like myself,i never got to realize why for example, a movie like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was successful,since it was so stupid compared to actual greek everyday life,customs,looks n so on),but the thing with "R.A.",is i think tht Coens didnt intend to circle around the allegedly countless desert campers or "funny" accents of ppl living in AZ..I personally didnt feel not one minute tht they were making a(not of good intentions too) satire of the place or ppl..
(Now,one might claim tht my perception abilities leave a lot to be desired...:-)
..But i dnt think thts the case.Wht is it then?Well,the case to me seems to be tht Ethan n Joel Coen,managed to create a well-intended cartoon movie,without using any animated characters..And cartoons dnt usually apply politics,such as mocking some mills of ppl,just because their neck is supposed to be of a redder shade....
"Raising Arizona" ,is just a funny story,or better yet,a funny TALE,and thts tht..There's no reason any should take the exaggerations of the movie as "critisism" towards the ppl of Arizona,or even as a "documentaristic view" upon their eevryday lives..This story,could have taken place somewhere else,sure somewhere south in the US(dont tell me tht those characters would be believable enough,if everything took place in the center of Manhattan,cause i wont buy it
;P ) ...Just like "H.I." says in the end,all this could have also taken place in Utah...Maybe only the accents would have been a lil different..
Now abt the "humour" of "R.A." ...Its true,not all ppl feel the same abt same things...I personally love this movie much....:It has a great Nick Cage (who otherwise makes me puke :)),it has an ever-rocking John-y-be-GoodMan [;)]
..it has a preposterous script,filled with some of the zaniest lines,scenes,moments,ever written,
,,,has very original direction/music score/photography/filming angles,editing, blahblah,ITS ONE OF THE FINEST COMEDIES IN ITS KIND....
...Seems like an oasis right in the middle of the Arizona desert :-)
(for those who fail to see my points:..give it another shot:its not THE mainstream movie (...like hell its mainstream...lol) ...Some things,just take time to be appreciated...(..believe me,i know wht im talking abt........;))
..Like getting into the sea:At 1st,everybody wants out..But with the course of time,not many want to get ashore too soon.....

Looking at the finger when a hand is pointing at the stars,means its maybe time u change perspective

[–] jamesl9 15 years ago

People, listen up... All the accents in the movie were southern accents, Arkansas, Alabama, etc. There are NO accents in Arizona. Period. And, no Southern saccent like that in So. Cal, for god's sake. The only way your dad heard Southern accent in this region is by out of state Southern workers. Clear?

[–] twinextralong-1 15 years ago

Wrong. Every single person that speaks a language has an accent, including Arizonans.

Me, I love this movie, and I first saw while living in a little state called Arizona. The purposeful inaccuracies are a lot of the fun, including the joke about "suburban Tempe." The whole thing is playing off stereotypes about Arizona, and doing it with a knowing wink.

[–] seriousshirley 15 years ago

I'm a Tempe Az native and I don't have an accent but I guess my non-accent would be an accent to people that do have accents, if that makes any sense at all. But I don't sound like the people in the movie. They must have been from Apache Junction. I sure do love Raising Arizona though, one of my top fav comedies.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] jpro3363 17 years ago

DOUCHEBAG ALERT!!!

[–] romeosdistress77 17 years ago

I am from Arizona and although I think this is a bad depiction of Arizona, I love the movie. It only takes a halfway intelligent person to realize that what the see in the movies is not true to life. Most movies aren't even filmed in the same place they take place in. The movie is great and I'm always happy to have movies filmed here. That way people can see our beautiful state and it is great for our economy. By the way, we definitely don't have accents like that. Arizonans are like a cross between Californians and New Mexicans.

[–] kinghog 17 years ago

Hayseed

[–] dagur51 17 years ago

I currently live in Arizona and I honestly don't know why anyone would be standing up for it, in my opinion. It's a hellhole, between the idiots that live here and the weather. Once again, just my opinion.

[–] actionjacksonde 17 years ago

Hey man, I'm from Texas.

How often is any place in Texas depicted as full of "hayseeds" or "rednecks"? How many movies have some guy supposedly from Texas with a huge cowboy hat and boots on and a big car with a set of longhorns on the hood and a ranch with cows and no indoor plumbing and every word out of their mouth is "HOOOWWWDY YYAAAAAUUULLLLL!"?

Texas is probably the most stereotyped state out of any other. Does all that stuff bother me? NO! Because although it is very diverse, there are still places like that in Texas, small towns and all. Do all women in California have fake boobs? No, but some do. Is everyone from New York fat and Italian and do they always wear a white wifebeaters and gold chains and eat pizza all the time? No, but some are and do. Is every place in Arizona a barren wasteland with a bunch of "hayseeds" and trailerparks? No, but I'm sure there is a place like that SOMEWHERE in Arizona.

I'm sorry if the Coen Brothers didn't feel like showing the big city side of Arizona and the lovely suburb side of Arizona and the Intilectual University side of Arizona or even the "active nightlife" side of Arizona along with the "hayseed" side of Arizona, but the story symply doesnt make sense in any other setting. If the film was set in New Mexico would you loathe it as much?

[–] peterwilliams-1 17 years ago

Let me say this first, this is the only movie I EVER walked out on. I didn't find it funny one bit and neither did the 5 other people that left with me. That being said, you cant judge this movie by 2005 standards (2005 due to the date of the original post). Almost 20 years had passed as of 2005 and like it or not, a lot has changed in that time. While the portrayal of Arizona may seem stereotyped or maybe even contrived, it might not have been that far off, if at all, at the time.

Or in the words of Public Enemy...By The Time I Get To Arizona....look it up, or better yet download it.

And if the ELECTED Governor can act that way, it MUST reflect on those that elected him.

[–] benchjoey 17 years ago

Why do some people have to be such twats? If you don't like the movie, fine...but do you have to complain that it's an inaccurate portrayal of life in Arizona? For chrissakes, it's just a movie. It's not like the plot revolved around the fact that people from Arizona are hayseeds. Arizona just happened to be the setting. This is a completely idiotic comment, and the depiction of Arizonans is irrelevant to the film.

[–] hawkblue_inaz 17 years ago

seriously people. it would be interesting to see how many people who bitch about this movie are actually from arizona. i was i grew up in arizona and live here to this day and that movie is one of the funniest pieces of cinema ever. Phoenix in 1987 was much different than it is today. and while tempe wasn't quite how they portray it even 21 years ago, i guarentee you can find a trailor out in the middle of the desert around phoenix. anyone ever been to casa grande or florence? i know that they are both a bit out of the phoenix area, but it's a movie! as an arizona native, i have to say that this movie portrays many parts of arizona to a T. and as a person who has a lot of family from Kingman, AZ, i can say that.

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Sometimes, nothing is a real cool hand.-Luke,1967.

[–] eternalsunshine1990 17 years ago

Have you ever seen "Fargo"?
I actually live in Minnesota and the Coen brothers depicted Minnesotans as dumb with rediculous accents who just want to watch the Minnesota Golden "Gou-phur" game.
I found it to be quite hilarious.
I think what they were doing with "Raising Arizona" was a satire. I'm sure they meant it in the nicest way possible, they wberen't attacking you.
Trust me.