Arizona

There are just a couple of comedy TV shows i can truly say i enjoy. Married With Children is of course a classic, with Ed O´Neil as the legendary shoe salesman Al Bundy. The other characters of this TV comedy show, also made this a really funny comedy gold moment in TV history. One of the reasons why this show is still funny today, is that the comedy material hit the right spots, about being married and having children. So many adults will recognize themselves in Al Bundy, a man who dreams about who he used to be, a football legend and now sell shoes. There are of course other great comedy TV shows to choose between. But in my opinion, the best comedy TV series ever made, is of course HBO classic TV series Eastbound & Down. This is the funniest TV series without a doubt, that tells the story of former baseball pro Kenny Powers ( played brilliant by actor Danny McBride ). Kenny Powers is the kind of character you love, because he does not take shit from anyone, because he is Kenny Powers, the greatest Baseball player in all history. That is of course not true, but this is the way he portrait himself. Danny McBride managed to do this character so powerful, that i can´t think of any comedy character that made me so happy as he did. Eastbound & Down really shows you how life changes, as you become an adult. You can tell that Kenny Powers wish he lived the lifestyle of a sports star, with nice cars and young girls, and he is forced to work as a school teacher in sports. DannyMcBride continued working on several different movies, and one of my personal favourite films with him in the cast, has to be the 2013 comedy This Is The End. An incredible funny comedy with very vulgar language. I would have to say that This Is The End was the best comedy of 2013, because no other film made me laugh as much as that film did. I also enjoyed Danny McBride in the film Don Verdean, directed by Jared Hess ( legendary director of Napoleon Dynamite ). He played a wacky character in this film by the name of Tony Lazarus. Of course this is nowhere as good Napoleon Dynamite is, but Don Verdean is still worth a watch for being an odd comedy, and director Jared Hess knows how to make these kinds of films. Let´s not forget that Danny McBride turned up in Ridley Scott´s film Alien Covenant last year, a nice surprise. When i saw a trailer of new films on VOD, i noticed that Danny McBride is in a new film called Arizona. I film i have never heard of before, so of course i became curious. A comedy set out in sunny Arizona, is this a surprisingly funny movie, or is this a film that no one will remember at all ?

Cassie ( Rosemarie Dewitt ) is a house broker in Arizona, trying to sell houses for an estate company. After the big economy crash in 2008, the situation is really bad in Arizona and not many houses can be sold. Cassie´s boss ( Seth Rogen ) is disappointed with the bad sales, and suggest that Cassie needs to dress sexier to get customers. One day a man named Sonny ( Danny McBride ) storm into the office, very disappointed with his house, that he bought from this estate company. Cassie´s boss end up arguing with Sonny, and as the argument becomes more violent, Sonny accidentally kill Cassie´s boss. Since Cassie is a witness, Sonny kidnap Cassie and bring her to his home. With the bad economy still going on, Sonny have no idea how to deal with this situation, with a dead body on his hands. He decide to keep Cassie, not knowing she have a teenage daughter Morgan ( Lolli Sorenson ). Sonny realize that he can´t take any chances, and must kidnap her also. Sonny´s plans to get his life together is suddenly fading away.

I did not know what to expect from Arizona honestly, since i only watched a trailer that did not leave out that much. But i have to say, this is a dark comedy thriller that made me think of another movie back in the 90´s called Very Bad Things. Of course these 2 movies are very different from each other, but they are both dark comedies with murder included, something you don´t really see very often these days. Arizona does have a nicer tone than Very Bad Things, but the black comedy ingredients actually becomes entertaining. I would not say that this is an original film in any way, but i like the way that the film portrait ordinary Americans, stuck with their houses thanks to the 2008 economical crash. That gives you a much more clear view on how desperate people can become, if they are stuck in an impossible situation, unless a change is coming. Danny McBride as the desperate family father Sonny, is the best highlight of this film. He is loud, and just want to fix everything right, but nothing works out the way he have planned everything. Actor Rosemarie DeWitt as the teenage mother, and hard working broker Cassie, is also a character you will enjoy, since you feel sorry for her and all she tries to do to make it work for her daughter and their future. It is also nice to see comedian and actor Seth Rogen as Cassie´s boss in this film. His character is a pain in the ass, but Seth manage to deliver in the short while he is in this film. Actor Luke Wilson can also be found here as Cassie´s ex husband Scott. The dark comedy scenes works best when we get to see Danny McBride´s character go bananas, and nothing he plans is working. And the murder scenes adds some satire to the story, of how this perfect family area becomes a victim of crime. I would have liked even more dark comedy satire, then what we get in this film. I think that could have helped Arizona become even more entertaining. Director Jonathan Watson was actually an first assistant director on TV series Eastbound & Down. Arizona is his directorial debut full feature film, and i think he have managed to make a film that stands out from the ordinary comedy releases. And this is a good idea, since we want a comedy to feel different, and this is something Arizona manage to do. I will admit i was hoping this film would have been even more fun, but i still see entertainment value in here. If you love Danny McBride and his acting style, then i guarantee you want to check out Arizona on VOD. A good choice if you enjoy dark comedies.

Rating: DDD