The darker your sense of humor, the more enjoyment you’ll find in (McBride’s) performance.
Cassie (Rosemarie DeWitt) is a real estate agent during the housing crisis of 2009. Underwater on her own house, she’s struggling to stay afloat as the housing market crashes down around her. When a disgruntled customer named Sonny (Danny McBride) violently confronts her boss, Gary, about his shady business practices, Cassie becomes a witness to murder. To protect himself, Sonny kidnaps Cassie while he tries to figure out how to make Gary’s death look like an accident. However, Sonny lets his temper get the better of him as he makes one dumb decision after another.
I don’t want to give away anything else because Arizona‘s biggest asset is the element of surprise. To start with, I found the Blu-ray in a dollar store. That lowered my expectations as I’d never heard of it prior to spotting it there. Second, the script by Luke Del Tredici (TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine) feels tailor-made for Danny McBride’s comedic delivery. Third, the upscale but virtually abandoned housing development provides a unique setting for a crime story. Last, but certainly not least, the cast features Seth Rogen, Kaitlin Olson, and David Alan Grier in small but pivotal roles.
Danny McBride, probably best known for his work on HBO’s Eastbound and Down, plays a darker, more unpredictable version of his typical vulgar, goofball persona. His high-strung, ill-tempered Sonny provides Arizona with most of its energy and laughs. One is never quite sure what he’s capable of — including himself. The darker your sense of humor, the more enjoyment you’ll find in his performance.
Rosemarie DeWitt’s Cassie may be written as a sympathetic character but that doesn’t quite pan out. DeWitt holds her own with McBride in their many scenes together, so it’s not a question of her acting chops. We’re introduced to Cassie as a victim but I think we’re supposed to come away feeling the events of the movie transform her into a self-sufficient badass. That definitely doesn’t happen. Not even close.
After a strong start, the movie settles into being a pretty straightforward cat and mouse thriller. There are some slightly absurd moments that keep hope alive for a less predictable outcome. Unfortunately, though, that’s not how things end up.
Still, for a movie that sneaked under the radar and ended up on the shelves of a dollar store, Arizona definitely exceeded my expectations.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
