"I don't know. Maybe it was Utah."

Recently, I started thinking about movies that were important to me in my high school days. As many of you can relate to, I grew up in a town where the smaller, independent movies never came to the theaters. So my friends and I were always the only ones renting the "weird" movies at the video store. So, in thinking about some of these movies, I decided it would be fun to revisit them from time to time.
So, today marks the debut of a new semi-regular feature here at I Charge Laughing.

Brief Essays about Movies that Were Important to Me

Raising Arizona by the Coen Brothers

This movie actually did come to the theater in Marion. I went with my best friend Jennifer, and we both laughed so much throughout the film that I missed many jokes. Other people in the theater did not find it nearly as amusing as we did, and when I talked with other people in school, they were all saying, "You liked that movie? That movie sucked."
But now I realize that it was those people that in fact sucked.

Raising Arizona tells the story of star-crossed lovers Ed and H.I. and their quest to have a baby. Because they cannot conceive, they kidnap one of the Arizona Quints, and, needless to say, hijinx ensue. The movie is strange, quirky, and hilarious, and it started my love affair with the films of the Coen brothers.

Here are some highlights:

• John Goodman twirling Nicolas Cage around the room
• Holly Hunter pronouncing "fiance" as "fy-ANTS": "My fy-ants left me, HI."
• Frances McDormand's reaction when she first sees Junior.: "He's an angel. He's an angel straight from heaven!"

Other favorites quotations (see them in context for full effect):

• "He smiled at me."
• "I don't know what his damn jammies looked like -- they had Yodas and shit on them."
• "You ate what?" "We ate sand." "You ate SAND?"
  
• "Son, you got a panty on your head."
• "They got them tape-ettes already on there. It's self-contained and fairly explanatory."
• "Well, no, unless round is funny."