By Rebecca Ramsey Daily Arts Writer

A married couple unable to have children, a hellish motorcycle-riding man-hunter, escaped convicts and some surreal pyrotechnics could easily be combined to make one frightening drama - or, if made by Joel and Ethan Coen, it could be a comedic film.

The Coen brothers have earned much acclaim for the entertaining dialogue and original plots that they incorporate into the films they write, direct and produce. Their films, including "Fargo," "The Big Lebowski" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", all demonstrate their unique ability to create excellent commentaries on the societies in which their characters live.

Back in the '80s, the decade in which the careers of the Coen brothers were taking off, they also employed intelligent methods of humor into their films. But, their film "Raising Arizona" includes some more extreme and screwball elements of comedy.

Their 1987 farce is the story of H.I. McDunnough (Nicholas Cage), a convict guilty of repeatedly robbing convenience stores. Hi (as he prefers to be called) falls in love with Edwina (or Ed, played by Holly Hunter), the cop who continuously takes his mug shots and fingerprints. Destined to turn his life around and leave his crimes behind him, Hi proposes to Ed. It appears as though they will live happily ever after, but Ed learns that she cannot have children, and they cannot adopt a child because Hi's criminal record is lengthy.

All seems hopeless for the couple until Hi and Ed decide to kidnap one of the quintuplets of Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) and his wife Florence. Figuring that the Arizonas have more children than they can care for, Hi and Ed conclude that the parents will get over the missing child. From this moment, chaos erupts and sends Hi into a mindset of regret and confusion, launching him into a series of misadventures.

The script contributes enormously to the humor of "Raising Arizona," but many of the funniest moments feature little dialogue. Possibly the most amusing and metaphorical scene is Gale (John Goodman) and Evelle's (William Forsythe) birth-like escape from prison. Emerging through sewage, the two men depict the creation of man as they come out of the ground screaming.

The Coen brothers also incorporate surreal dream-like facets that distort the boundaries between being asleep and awake. Leonard Smalls (Randall "Tex" Cobb), the chain-smoking Hell's Angel on the hunt for the baby, initially appears as a villain in Hi's nightmares, but later emerges as a real person engulfed in fire. Such montages create a unique and semi-conscious sense of humor that appears in "The Big Lebowski" and other Coen brothers films.

The film satirizes those who are baby-obsessed. Ed, after holding her stolen son for a mere ten seconds, bursts out crying, "I love him so much!" Hi and Ed's friends, Dot (Frances McDormand) and Glen (Sam McMurray), have five children but desire another, so Dot will have something to cuddle with. Even escaped criminals Gale and Evelle become obsessed with the baby. The desperate measures that the characters go through in order to obtain a baby humorously question traditional family values.

Cage's performance alone makes the film worth watching. His voice, usually deep and whispery, is altered to pass as Southwestern dialect. His hair remains a disheveled mass of anarchy throughout the entire movie, and his colorful, unbuttoned shirts contribute nicely to the cartoon-like disorder. Although Cage's role is an early performance in his career, Hi McDonnough heightened the audience's awareness of the actor.

"Raising Arizona" is an offbeat comedy that tells of a nontraditional love story between a couple that tries to be traditional in their own quirky way. With the combination of satire, surrealism and an array of amusing action sequences, the Coen brothers developed a comedic masterpiece that paved the way to further successful film endeavors. Among so many overrated films that lack creativity, "Raising Arizona" rises above the garbage. In a sense, it's that first breath of fresh air after being in sewage..