The Big Easy

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?

The Big Easy is a film which has bypassed me over the years. Having now watched it, i can say with confidence this is good rather than great. Dennis Quaid is good in this as usual, however it took me a little while to adjust to the accent he was putting on. Ellen Barkin never one of my favourite actresses was also good in this. Ned Beatty was his usual reliable self and a good small role here for John Goodman. The main thriller aspect of the plot seems to get lost behind the relationship between Quaid and Barkin and i feel the film would have benefited concentrating solely on one aspect or the other. The action scenes when they arrive are merely serviceable and the ending is merely ok. However i did enjoy the Big Easy it is a well shot film and doesn't outstay its welcome. In summary, good not great.

"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.

Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin star in "The Big Easy," a 1986 film set in New Orleans, and also starring Ned Beatty, John Goodman, and Grace Zabriskie.

I know an attorney who won a huge civil rights case in New Orleans and then had to run for her life with her family when her life was continuously threatened. The New Orleans police force has the reputation of being the most corrupt police force in the United States. That's saying something.

That corruption is visited here in this story of a mildly corrupt cop Remy (Quaid) investigating a series of murders of low-level drug people. The assigned assistant district attorney, Anne Osborne (Barkin) assumes from the get-go, because of the presence of a cop car at one of the murders, that the police are involved.

That's the background for a hot love affair between these two sexy characters who really steam up the screen. Quaid is delightful as the high-flying Remy, and he gets to show his range as an actor - going from flirtatious playboy to a grief-stricken man. Barkin is perfect as a woman trying to stay professional but finding it nearly impossible.

This film has some serious and disturbing moments, but the locale and the actors infuse it with charm and energy. Well directed by Jim McBride, who keeps up the pace.

Recommended.