Big Easy, le flic de mon coeur

This movie was an unexpected delight. In general, I don't like thrillers or suspense, so I braced myself for something that would not be to my taste. Was I ever wrong! The moment the opening credits came on with that wonderful music playing, I knew I would love this film. Although I didn't meet anybody in New Orleans who talked like Dennis Quaid did in this movie, and his portrayal of Rennie McSwain came off as something of a caricature, I still found him extremely enjoyable to watch and as a leading man, he was as sexy as a romantic hero can be. Ellen Barkin was great as the leading lady. The suspense part of the plot was perhaps the weakest part, but the romantic storyline was perfect. The music was so great, it made everything work. Yes, the movie makers made some mistakes with their geography, but that was completely forgivable, as the overall film was such a delight to watch. And few movies nowadays have such a great soundtrack as this movie has. A true delight, this will be a timeless classic.

The Big Easy is directed by Jim McBride and written by Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman and Ned Beatty. Music is scored by Brad Fiedel and cinematography by Affonso Beato.

Remy McSwain (Quaid) is a slightly corrupt New Orleans cop, who whilst investigating the murder of a mob man, finds himself under scrutiny by assistant district attorney Anne Osborne (Barkin). The waters start to become muddied when the pair begin to have a passionate affair, just as the can opens and worms spill out everywhere.

It's an odd film at times, a bit too jovial to be considered proper neo-noir, and Quaid's Southern accent takes some getting used too. It's also nearly derailed in quality as conventionality dominates the last quarter of film.Yet judged on its own thriller terms it entertains well enough whilst also having some neat technical touches to help it along. Petrie's script contains spiky dialogue and a number of bravura sequences light up the otherwise standard crooked cop story.

McBride dose good work on this, he opens his film up with a cracker of a camera tracker, and he makes good use of the New Orleans locations. He also has a good sense of prop choices to help the mood, none more so than with a scene involving Mardi Gras costumes, whilst he gets strength for the film by garnering tense and sexy performances out of Quaid and Barkin. Support actors also leave good marks, with Goodman as a cop colleague dominating the screen and Charles Ludlam almost stealing the film as McSwain's dry and near sleazy lawyer. Soundtrack, too, is well thought out, with the Cajun flavours spicing up the sweaty Orleans stew. 7/10

"The Big Easy" is a lot of fun for native New Orleanians. I've never seen this film until yesterday, and it delighted me to see some of my former colleagues in the NOPD Detective Bureau play cops in the movie. Gus Krinke (now retired) actually did a very credible job as portraying an Internal Affairs Detective.

Yes, the 'accents' as portrayed here are unbelievable...many tourists are astonished to learn that most New Orleanians talk almost exactly like they're from Brooklyn, not some backwater swamp.

I understand Quaid enjoyed himself in New Orleans while making this movie, and it clearly shows. Grace Zabriskie (who was actually born in N.O.) was the most believable character. John Goodman liked the place so much he bought a home in the Crescent City.

Quaid and Barkin definitely put some spice in their roles...their chemistry was apparent and believable (unlike Quaid's accent), and their romance was really the only thing believable in this 'police movie'.

BTW, real New Orleans cops don't work out of 'Precinct Houses', sports fans, they're referred to as 'Districts'...New Orleans has 8 (eight) Police Districts. And I was delighted to see that the official ("unofficial") NOPD 'Vulture/star-and-Crescent' Homicide 'badge' was shown so often.

All in all, this film is a lot of fun despite its numerous technical flaws, and I give it 6 out of 10.

Having just watched my video tape of this film again, I found it is just as enjoyable today as it was back when it was first released. People who live in New Orleans have written that it is unrealistic!! This is news about movies?! If we want realism we can go out our front door and go to any city and run with the cops for a shift. Almost all big cities have ride along programs.

No, this is a FILM. And a good one, perfectly cast. The story of the corruption in a big city police department is a staple of cop films but is done with a fresh set of characters who are believeable.

Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barken are at the top of their career curve and play off each other to great effect. Their steamy love scene is as good as has been done in film.

Many good character actors fill out the rest of the cast and of course the music is just wonderful setting the mood for film. I don't know if this was filmed in New Orleans, but it sure looked like some of the city I visited years ago. I came for a convention and the host committee had some men who spoke just like some of these people in the film. Of course, they were from all the different suburbs and the city too. So maybe some of the critics who live there should get around more.

Just watch and enjoy.

The Big Easy is a fairly straightforward thriller about police corruption - a little predictable, but with occasional clever touches - but the apparent chemistry between Quaid and Barkin is outstanding, making this one of the steamiest movies I've ever seen (much hotter than 9 1/2 weeks, and with the benefit of a plot and sympathetic characters). Accents aside (I'm only an occasional visitor to New Orleans, and not qualified to judge), the other performances are also excellent, especially Beatty and Goodman as corrupt cops, and there are also some gut-bustingly funny moments and a wonderful soundtrack. The film may not do justice to modern New Orleans, but then, what movie ever did?