The Big Easy (1987)

Just perfect...

I wanted to but couldn't!

A Masterpiece!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

For a film about violence, crime and police corruption, The Big Easy sure is easy going and colorful. The characters are the liveliest bunch of rascals and it's a pleasure to spend every minute with them. Dennis Quaid plays cocky New Orleans detective Remy McSwain, a swaggering smooth talker who's gotten wealthy taking payoffs, a dude whose silky charm matches his swanky suits. He's gotten used to the easy life in the police department, with a captain who looks the other way (Ned Beatty brings a jovial, rotund presence), and colleagues (John Goodman is perfectly cast as the witty loudmouth of the bunch) who are just as happily willing to bend the rules as him. Trouble arrives in the sultry form of D.A. corruption task force specialist Anne Osborne (a swelteringly hot Ellen Barkin) who leans on Quaid as heavily as he hits on her. There's immediate and electric chemistry between them, which she adamantly fights, and he chases like a horn dog pursuing the bumper of a speeding Buick. Quaid and Barkin have the same spitfire sheen to their work, their careers dotted with performances that are flashy yet brave, pulpy yet laced with depth. Here they're having oodles of fun and carry the entire film on their crackling star power and romantic spark alone. There's also a subplot involving a rash of gang killings, as well as family matters involving Quaid's vivacious Cajun clan, including his Momma (monumentally talented Grace Zabriskie). It's a lively hodge-podge of plot elements we've seen a zillion times, but given such flippant style and good natured southern hospitality that we can't help but be won over. There's some lovely live performed Cajun music as well to add extra spice.

I'd always wondered why Dennis Quaid was a star - and now I know. He's excellent here as a Cajun cop with a shark grin and a sideline in the protection racket. The Big Easy is a richly atmospheric New Orleans-set thriller charting two investigations that dovetail into one, in typical (neo-)noir fashion. The first sees Quaid looking into a series of grisly murders - apparently the result of a drug war. The second has DA Ellen Barkin tackling suspected police corruption, and being drawn towards charismatic tough guy Quaid.The dialogue in the opening scene is a touch mannered, but soon the stylised exchanges start to ring true, and the smart plotting, fine Cajun song score and sizzling Quaid-Barkin chemistry begin to work their magic. Though the whodunnit element is a little too obvious, this is a fine piece of work, and vastly superior to the similar Sea of Love. I never thought I'd say this - but which other Dennis Quaid movies are worth seeking out?

Det. Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is a New Orleans cop investigating the seemingly routine death of a wise guy, he is surprised by the amount of interest being shown by the new District Attorney Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin). McSwain is a cocky fun loving kind of guy and he is soon trying it on with Osborne. She doesn't resist to hard but soon she realises she must end this relationship as there will be a conflict of interest as she is also investigating corruption in his precinct. Mc Swain is entrapped by an Internal Affairs sting, but when evidence goes missing, Mc Swain is cleared. As the bodies build up in the seemingly escalating gang war, Mc Swain and Osborne finally come together to as real truth is revealed. Decent Neo Noir, that doesn't take itself too seriously playing a lot scenes for laughs. It also follows the seemingly de-rigeur 80's phenomenon that all Noirs need to be steamy, although this one doesn't quite ratchet up the sexiness as much as others of the era. The ending is the low point of the film, its very abrupt and a little to Disney for this crime fan.

"The Big Easy" (1987) directed by Jim McBride is a very sexy thriller/neo noir -southern style. I always wanted to visit New Orleans and The Big Easy, "where they do things differently" and its Cajun music are the stars of the movie. Two hot and talented actors (Dennis Quaid at his sexiest) as Det. Remy McSwain, of New Orleans Homicide and criminally underrated Ellen Barkin (Ann Osborne, a beautiful attorney from the D.A.'s office investigating corruption charges against Remy) are incredibly believable in their erotic scenes that make the film deservingly famous. Ned Beatty, John Goodman, and Grace Zabriskie are the part of the first-rate cast in this very decent even if predictable Crime / Action / Thriller / Mystery /Romance