The Big Easy (1987)

This is by the same guy who did Breathless, the Richard Gere revamp, so naturally I was interested. That one was about life as a movie but a hotly incandescent wind, embodied in Gere's studly antics, blows through it and makes the heart beat faster. It was as youthful as Godard, more actually. It was an entry into his world seen through her fascinated eyes.Most viewers will note this as lukewarm failure, too much of a cartoon. In fact he's trying for a similar thing.Once more the adolescent hunk who lives in the moment with no care, the girl who reluctantly is swept, a world set in motion and the two brought together by random violence. New Orleans in place of LA but as exuberant, a backdrop for sensual whim.But Quaid is no Gere, Barkin is no Kapriskie, and he's a police lieutenant, she's with the DA's office, so the same adolescent antics now register as simply juvenile. It was one thing for Kapriskie as a young student to be swept off her feet, another for a woman who is supposed to be investigating police corruption to be shown like a jittery schoolgirl with a crush.It's a case of botching the abstraction. The tacky crime plot about killings around town and police corruption we could wave off if seeing these two in a youthful light was a breeze that carried us outside. But seeing them as we do, it reduces. It is, eventually, about how she is strong enough to mind and strong enough to inspire a more noble cop out of him, but reduces too much to get there.And it's another one erroneously mentioned as modern noir in some lists. The narrative drive is from the screwball, the complete opposite of noir, about characters retaining control of their world and the friction of both refusing to let go easily. Quaid's role in the 40s would have been played by Gable, not Mitchum.

I will start by saying that I didn't pay full attention to this film while watching, I was doing something else at the same time, but to be honest it didn't look all that engaging anyway, but I tried my best. Basically in New Orleans, lieutenant in Homicide, Det. Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is investigating a series of gang killings in he city, and at the same time being followed by beautiful attorney Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin). As the killings continue he starts a relationship with her, and he ends up in the court charged with accepting bribes, while the criminals are obviously still on the loose. After a series of chatty scenes are a small chase or two, we find out in the end that the bad guys are actually cops, one being Det. Andre DeSoto (John Goodman), but they get their comeuppance, and Remy and Anne go on together. Also starring Ned Beatty as Jack Kellom, Ebbe Roe Smith as Det. Ed Dodge, Lisa Jane Persky as Det. McCabe, Thomas O'Brien as Bobby McSwain, Jim Garrison as Judge Garrison and Carol Sutton as Judge Raskov. Quaid was reasonable, as was Barkin, and I guess there was a spark between them, and Goodman did okay in his moments, apart from the courtroom and dockyard scenes there were not many highly engaging moments, but what I paid some attention to was relatively interesting, in my opinion, an alright crime thriller. Worth watching!

"The Big Easy" is a great movie which simply oozes charm and atmosphere from start to finish. Its unique blend of action, romance and humour is complemented brilliantly by the idiosyncrasies of its characters, some irresistible music and the colourful location in which it's set. The whole notion of New Orleans being a place where life is lived at a relaxed pace and where pay-offs are the norm is conveyed in a way which seems totally authentic and interestingly, this culture appears to be equally prevalent in both the criminal and the law enforcement fraternities.Homicide detective Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is conducting an investigation into a series of murders where local mobsters have been the victims when Assistant D.A. Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) arrives on the scene to carry out her own investigation into alleged police corruption. There's an instant attraction between the easy going Remy and the straight laced Anne and she's gradually won over by his good natured banter and natural charisma.When the couple go out to dinner, it becomes clear to Anne that it's normal for Remy to be given free dinners by the proprietor of "Tipitina's" and later after Remy is caught accepting a pay-off during a sting operation, it falls to Anne to act as the prosecutor when his case goes to trial. Remy doesn't regard himself as corrupt as everyone in the police department enjoys kickbacks from the "Widows & Orphans Fund" which is financed by money which the police raise from the local shop owners. The prosecution's case then runs into trouble after some unorthodox action by his colleagues ensures that the evidence against Remy is made unusable.The couple's relationship is temporarily derailed when they're on different sides during the trial but later when it becomes necessary to do so; they agree to work together again.Remy and Anne are profoundly different in the sense that she sees what's permissible within the regulations in terms which are very black and white whilst Remy is a pragmatist who is perfectly comfortable operating within the grey areas. On one occasion she says to him "You're supposed to uphold the law but instead you bend it and twist it and sell it"....."Why don't you just face it Remy? You're not one of the good guys anymore". On another occasion Remy says "This is New Orleans darlin'. Folks have a certain way of doing things down here. People like to show their appreciation". During the course of the story, Remy gradually starts to recognise why she sees things the way she does.Dennis Quaid is terrific as a character who like the movie itself is bright and breezy, charming and very good humoured. Ellen Barkin is perfect as the uptight Anne who's completely horrified by some of the practices which she witnesses during the course of her investigation and the supporting cast are also excellent (especially John Goodman, Ned Beatty and Charles Ludlam)."The Big Easy" is pure entertainment and great fun and unsurprisingly was a big commercial success.

Jim McBride's film 'The Big Easy' is an essentially light-hearted crime thriller that integrates elements of romantic comedy with an exaggerated portrayal of life in New Orleans. Ultimately, however, it can't quite decide to play it purely for laughs, so there are also some gruesome scenes and a story of a cop's disenchantment with a life of petty corruption; it's hard to take these seriously in the context of the film as a whole. Whether you like this movie probably depends on what you think of its leads: Dennis Quaid's cocky policeman and Ellen Barkin's very 1980s lawyer. Personally, I'd feel quite easy about giving them a miss.