Coen Brothers: Ranking Their Films From Worst To Best

6. Raising Arizona (1987)

Despite his reputation for controversial (read: consistently awful) acting in films that are divisive among fans and critics (read: consistently awful), Nicolas Cage does have a few high points in his career. One of those is Raising Arizona, the sophomore effort by the Coens, in which he plays the manic H.I. to hilarious effect. Ex-con H.I. and his ex-cop wife Ed (Holly Hunter) are unable to have children, so they simply swipe one of the quintuplets from the titular Arizona family. While they attempt to keep secret their babynapping, escaped convicts and filthy bounty-hunting bikers accost H.I., Ed, and Junior for their slice of the pie. The first instance of a trend that would continue throughout their careers, the Coens follow a dark and serious thriller (in this case Blood Simple) with an over-the-top comedy, showing just how versatile and hungry for fresh ideas the directing duo can be. Raising Arizona would doubtless be counted as their most zanily hilarious film, if not for...