History Film / RaisingArizona

* BerserkButton: There is little that fazes Hi—except another man having eyes for his wife.

* CannotTellAJoke: H.I.'s boss, Glen, is always telling Polack jokes that no one thinks are funny. He also bungles one and has to start over again. [[spoiler:H.I. notes that it finally gets him in trouble when he tries to crack a Polack joke to a Polish highway patrolman.]]

* BerserkButton: There is little that phases Hi—except another man having eyes for his wife.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: Leonard Smalls seems to have supernatural properties and is frequently associated with fire. He appears to HI in a dream, produces cigars and matches from thin air, materializes in an explosion, and bleeds gouts of blood. However, he also references being bought on the black market as a baby, and his goal is simply a chunk of money.

* ApologeticAttacker: HI apologizes twice while fighting Smalls. The first time seems to be out of pure terror and the second time [[spoiler: is after pulling the pin out of Small's grenade, killing him.]]

* AssholeVictim: Subverted. We initially think Nathan Arizona is this, and his early dialogue suggests a potential BigBad. When [[spoiler: HI and Ed return his son]] he realises they took him. He refuses to call the cops, genuinely thanks them, and offers them [[PetTheDog uplifting advice]] on starting a family of their own. So, earlier in and throughout the movie, Nathan Sr. can qualify as a HeroAntagonist, while Leonard Smalls is the true BigBad.

-->'''Gale:''' All right, ya hayseeds, it's a stick-up. Everybody freeze. Everybody down on the ground!
-->''[{{beat}} as no one moves]''
-->'''Hayseed:''' Well, which is it, young feller? You want I should freeze or get down on the ground? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I can't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm a-gonna be in motion. You see...
-->'''Gale:''' Shut up!
-->'''Hayseed:''' Okay, then!
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: After everything is said and done, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy HI and Ed return Nathan Jr.]]. Nathan Sr., after learning why they kidnapped him in the first place, [[WhatYouAreInTheDark decides not to turn them in]] and gives them advice for their relationship. [[DistantFinale HI then has a dream]] where he and Ed are an elderly couple being visited by their children and grandchildren. Nathan Jr. is also a football star, and while he doesn't remember HI or Ed, at least he's happy.]]

* CallBack: At the start of the film, H.I crawls under a bed to retrieve one of the Arizona babies, when another one "ambushes" him by falling on his back. At the end of the film, he crawls under a car to escape from Smalls in the same way.
* CannotTellAJoke: H.I's boss, Glen, is always telling Polack jokes that no one thinks are funny. He also bungles one and has to start over again. [[spoiler: HI notes that it finally gets him in trouble when he tries to crack a Polack joke to a Polish highway patrolman.]]
* CatchPhrase:

-->'''Gale''': I told you not to use our names. Can't you try to keep from forgetting that?
-->'''Evelle''': Not even our code names?
-->'''Gale''': Oh yeah... Right.
-->'''Evelle''': Y'all hear that? We's usin' code names!

* CurbStompBattle: H.I does not fare well against Leonard Smalls.

* DisasterDominoes: H.I holding up a convenience store quickly snowballs into a chaotic romp all over the suburbs, with a pack of angry dogs in pursuit and indiscriminate gunfire.

* ExactWords: Nathan Arizona's CatchPhrase guarantee is "if you won't find a cheaper price anywhere else, OrMyNameIsnt Nathan Arizona!" Turns out that "Nathan Arizona" isn't his original name. It's Nathan ''Huffheinz''

--> The fabled Arizona Quints were released today from the Maricopa County Hospital. They accompanied their mother to Tempe after two months of incubation. Their father is unpainted furniture tycoon Nathan Arizona, who is reportedly pondering a run for Congress in the 4th District. Pete Peterson, Republican incumbent in the 4th, dismissed the birth of the quints as "a cheap publicity stunt" in a news conference Thursday. He characterized Nathan Arizona as an "unprincipled media hog and a loud hectoring nitwit", but conceded that [[MeanCharacterNiceActor Trey Wilson, the actor portraying him, as a "very nice fellow with a distasteful job to do."]]

-->"Well, as in 'Edward.' We just like that name."

** The biker's expression when he realizes H.I. [[spoiler: is holding the pin from one of his grenades]].

* PineappleSurprise: How Hi [[spoiler: defeats Leonard Smalls.]]

--> '''Evelle:''' No ma'am, we didn't escape, we released ourselves from prison on our own recognizance.
--> '''Gale:''' We felt we'd reached the limits of what the institution had to offer us.

* TattooedCrook: H.I. and Leonard Smalls both sport tattoos, including [[spoiler: the same Mr. Horsepower tattoo]].

* TwoDecadesBehind: The film establishes that it’s taking place in modern times (The 80s) with Hi mentioning President Reagan. But all the fashions, cars, hairstyles, etc. range from the Great Depression to the 70s.

* VocalDissonance: Probably an unintentional example, but Leonard Smalls' single scene of dialogue highlights the fact that Tex Cobb, however burly and terrifying he might look, has a rather high and extremely nasal voice, in part due to the damage his face accumulated during his boxing career. Somehow, it actually makes him ''more'' intimidating.

->'''H.I. "Hi" [=McDunnough=]:''' Well... it ain't ''Ozzie and Harriet''.

* AdoptionIsNotAnOption: Well, Ed and Hi do try, but unfortunately the fact Hi is ex-con denies them approval by the adoption agency even when a) they are a nice couple , b) Hi was not a violent criminal and apparently a model prisoner (although he was a repeat offender) and c) Hi points out Ed is a decorated police officer. A pretty sad bit of TruthInTelevision.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: There's ''something'' unnatural about Leonard Smalls but it's never quite clear what.

%%* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter

%%* BlackComedy

** HI's boss always says, "Say, that reminds me..."

* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: A Muzak version of the main theme "Goofing-Off Suite" plays in a supermarket. Ed also sings "Down in Willow Garden" a lullaby, which is the basis of the film's other recurring leitmotif.

* EmbarrassingLastName: Nathan Arizona is apparently embarrassed by his ''last'' name-- he was born "Nathan Huffheinz", and claims that he changed his name for marketing reasons:
-->'''Detective:''' Sir, records show that you were born Nathan Huffheinz; can you tell us why you changed it?
-->'''Arizona:''' Yeah. Would you buy furniture from a store called 'Unpainted ''Huffheinz?'''
** Which adds some potential irony when you remember his marketing and off-camera catchphrase is "...or my name ain't Nathan Arizona!"

* EvilIsPetty: Leonard Smalls is introduced using a shotgun and hand grenades to slaughter small animals he passes on the side of the road. And when he introduces himself to Nathan Arizona, he makes clear that he ''will'' find Nathan Jr. and he ''will'' profit from retrieving that baby -- either because Arizona will give him a nice big bounty or because Smalls will sell Nathan Jr. on the black market, that's Nathan Sr.'s choice. Nathan Sr. [[PapaWolf tells Smalls to get the hell out of his office]]. [[ThenLetMeBeEvil Oops.]]

* HandCannon: The clerk at the store pulls a huge, nickle-plated revolver.
* HateSink: Hi's [[BadBoss boss]] Glen. He's a boorish, dimwitted racist who laughs at his own jokes, talks with his mouth full, and has a creepy fixation on Ed (if his diatribe about "wife-swapping" is anything to go by). When he figures out that the baby Ed and Hi have is Nathan Arizona Jr., he does not does calls the police (either because it's the right thing to do or to collect the reward Nathan Sr. is offering) but instead attempts to blackmail the couple for them to hand the baby over to him so he'll raise him as one of his children.

** Also, Leonard Smalls is [[spoiler:blown up by his own grenades.]]

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Hi signing his name on his DearJohnLetter "Herbert."

* PintSizedPowerhouse: Ed, played by 5'2" Holly Hunter, is an officer of the law, ''twice decorated''. Her face off against the biker should give some idea of how she achieved that. Also, when she slaps H.I. for robbing the convenience store, he looks like he's been punched by someone bigger than him.
* PublicDomainSoundtrack: ''Music/OdeToJoy'' is both yodelled and played on a banjo, and mashed up with Music/PeteSeeger's "Goofing-Off Suite".

* SarcasmFailure: Note to the wise, courtesy of Nathan Arizona: if you ever want to say that you "have more kids than you can handle", ''don't''.
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Smalls, to the point he might not even be ''human''.

* SceneryPorn: Lots of gorgeous vistas of the Sonoran Desert. Hi and Ed may live in a rundown trailer, but they certainly have a beautiful view!

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: The infamous chase scene, where HI gets shot at by the cops, the convenience store clerk, and a grocery store manager wielding a ''shotgun''.

* TwoDecadesBehind: The film establishes that it’s taking place in modern times (The 80’s) with Hi mentioning President Reagan. But all the fashions, cars, hairstyles, etc. range from the Great Depression to the 70’s.

* YouCanSeeThatRight: H.I. to Ed when Smalls appears.

* HateSink: Hi's [[BadBoss boss]] Glen. He's a boorish, dimwitted racist who laughs at his own jokes, talks with his mouth full, and has a creepy fixation on Ed (if his diatribe about "wife-swapping" is anything to go by).

* LighterAndSofter: The Coen brothers made this movie with the intention of making a film that had the complete opposite of their previous film, the dark thriller Film/BloodSimple. The film has a more light-hearted sense of humor and is generally more optimistic than a lot of their other films.

* OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: Nathan Jr. Everyone desires him for various reasons.

* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: A Muzak version of the theme plays in a supermarket. Ed also sings a "lullaby" to the tune.

* HandCannon: The clerk at the store pulls a huge, nickel-plated revolver.

* MonochromeCasting: Only two Black characters, both in prison, and no Hispanics or Native Americans in a state where those groups make up a significant portion of the population.