REVIEW: ARIZONA DREAM STARRING JOHNNY DEPP

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Arizona Dream

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As of Monday, March 15, Alice in Wonderland has grossed $215.3 million at the domestic box office. Ever since 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Johnny Depp has been one of Hollywood's biggest stars. So, for those who want to re-visit the early days when Depp was a complex actor in small and quirky movies then here's some good news. www.warnerarchive.com, Warner Bros' made-to-order DVD service, added Arizona Dream to their list today.

The film, which was made in 1991 but wasn't released till 1993, features Depp as Axel, a young man from New York who travels to Arizona to attend his uncle's wedding to a barely legal girl. His uncle is played by legendary comedian Jerry Lewis whose celebrating his 84th birthday today. Axel's uncle wants him to stay in town and work for him at his car dealership. He refuses at first, but later decides to try it out for a week. There he meets two eccentric females: an older woman named Elaine (Faye Dunaway) and her step-daughter Grace (Lili Taylor). Axel falls in love with both of them and soon finds himself living at their home. When he isn't building aircrafts for Elaine he's trying to stop Grace from killing himself. To complicate matters, his cousin Paul (Vincent Gallo) is always hanging around and randomly performing scenes from his favorite movies.

Upon its release, Arizona Dream went mostly unnoticed and continues to be somewhat of a hidden gem to this day. Which is a shame because it's a funny, quirky film with great performances and awesome music by Iggy Pop. So, if you can, check it out. And if you have the time, include What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Benny & Joon and make a night out of it.