The Big Easy Reviews

1987

Rated:
60
from 1462 members

In this steamy, spicy mystery a prosecutor is sent to New Orleans to investigate police corruption. All the evidence points to a Cajun detective she falls in love with immediately, and though the trial forces him temporarily off the squad it doesn't stop him from investigating the case or from seeing her. Read more

Starring	Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty, John Goodman
Director	Jim McBride
Genres	Drama

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Critics' reviews (3) of The Big Easy
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After watching this sizzling crime thriller, you will be at a loss to explain why director Jim McBride and stars Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin failed to go on and take Hollywood by storm. Rather than the start of something big, this was the career peak of all three, but what heights they attained. Sparks fly from the moment cop Quaid and assistant district attorney Barkin come together to investigate a New Orleans Mob killing, but their conflicting moral codes threaten to take the heat out of their steamy affair. Ned Beatty and John Goodman provide gritty support, while McBride brings the unique quality of the city to throbbing life.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
Lieutenant Remy McSwain of Homicide (Quaid) comes from a long line of venal cops, and although he does little more than... read more on Time Out
- Time Out
- Posted 04 Nov 2008
Sassy, easy-going melodrama with comedy asides.
- Halliwell's Film Guide
- Posted 02 Mar 2006
Most helpful members' reviews (3) of The Big Easy
View all
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

Watch it for the soundtrack alone, then revel in the sultry backdrop of New Orleans and Bayou country. Not the most sophisticated of plots and the performances are sometimes a little stylised, but somehow it all works and fits together nicely. Ellen Barkin is convincingly gauche and somehow all the more sexy for that. Great fun!
- - Gus from Winchester
  - Posted 17 Feb 2005 23:38
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Welcome to NOLA!

I rented this DVD mainly because I love New Orleans and any excuse to get nostaglic about this wonderful American city. Dennis Quaid is winning as the sexy Cajun cop Remy who is on the trail of some crooked cops. Barkin is less convincing as the WASP district attorney who is out, it seems, to get Remy while conducting a torrid affair with him. There is a lot of humour in this film. It is a real 80s flick - come enjoy the zydeco soundtrack, the sun, the food, the mo-jo and the flair of the Big Easy!!

No DVD extras
- - A customer from London
  - Posted 15 Apr 2004 14:54
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Quaid's best? Surely not.

Many reviewers say that this is the best thing both Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin have done. They can't have much of an opinion about their later stuff. Quaid's accent is sometimes impenetrable as he seems to be imitating Brando in 'Streetcar Named Desire' while gurning like Jack Nicholson. As for the story, it's a standard tale of police corruption in 'Norleens' with the cops responsible for more dead bodies than the supposed bad guys! And why, in this kind of film, can you guarantee that if someone is told 'Wait there!' they'll trot along behind in a few seconds? It's not a bad film - it's not particularly good either.
- - A customer from Redditch, England
  - Posted 07 Feb 2006 12:51
Most recent members' reviews (2) of The Big Easy
View all
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Welcome to NOLA!

I rented this DVD mainly because I love New Orleans and any excuse to get nostaglic about this wonderful American city. Dennis Quaid is winning as the sexy Cajun cop Remy who is on the trail of some crooked cops. Barkin is less convincing as the WASP district attorney who is out, it seems, to get Remy while conducting a torrid affair with him. There is a lot of humour in this film. It is a real 80s flick - come enjoy the zydeco soundtrack, the sun, the food, the mo-jo and the flair of the Big Easy!!

No DVD extras
- - A customer from London
  - Posted 15 Apr 2004 14:54
0 out of 1 person found this review helpful

The Bore Easy

The movie should be titled The bore easy because it was so boring.
- - A customer from Dewsbury
  - Posted 01 Dec 2006 12:42

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

Watch it for the soundtrack alone, then revel in the sultry backdrop of New Orleans and Bayou country. Not the most sophisticated of plots and the performances are sometimes a little stylised, but somehow it all works and fits together nicely. Ellen Barkin is convincingly gauche and somehow all the more sexy for that. Great fun!
- - Gus from Winchester
  - Posted 17 Feb 2005 23:38
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Welcome to NOLA!

I rented this DVD mainly because I love New Orleans and any excuse to get nostaglic about this wonderful American city. Dennis Quaid is winning as the sexy Cajun cop Remy who is on the trail of some crooked cops. Barkin is less convincing as the WASP district attorney who is out, it seems, to get Remy while conducting a torrid affair with him. There is a lot of humour in this film. It is a real 80s flick - come enjoy the zydeco soundtrack, the sun, the food, the mo-jo and the flair of the Big Easy!!

No DVD extras
- - A customer from London
  - Posted 15 Apr 2004 14:54
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Quaid's best? Surely not.

Many reviewers say that this is the best thing both Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin have done. They can't have much of an opinion about their later stuff. Quaid's accent is sometimes impenetrable as he seems to be imitating Brando in 'Streetcar Named Desire' while gurning like Jack Nicholson. As for the story, it's a standard tale of police corruption in 'Norleens' with the cops responsible for more dead bodies than the supposed bad guys! And why, in this kind of film, can you guarantee that if someone is told 'Wait there!' they'll trot along behind in a few seconds? It's not a bad film - it's not particularly good either.
- - A customer from Redditch, England
  - Posted 07 Feb 2006 12:51
big easy

Loved it - very enjoyable reflection of life
- - A customer from London
  - Posted 13 Jan 2009 14:01
Complete rubbish

I watched about 20 minutes of this, had great difficulty in understanding what was being said and decided that it was not for me. My wife also agreed with my view.
- - A customer from Northants
  - Posted 26 Mar 2009 13:44
0 out of 1 person found this review helpful

The Bore Easy

The movie should be titled The bore easy because it was so boring.
- - A customer from Dewsbury
  - Posted 01 Dec 2006 12:42
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

On paper potentially a great movie (cast, location etc) let down by a tedious script that never really gets into top gear. I'm a Quaid fan without him this would have gone nowhere!
- - Andrew from Oxfordshire England
  - Posted 19 Aug 2005 20:09

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Critics' reviews (3)
After watching this sizzling crime thriller, you will be at a loss to explain why director Jim McBride and stars Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin failed to go on and take Hollywood by storm. Rather than the start of something big, this was the career peak of all three, but what heights they attained. Sparks fly from the moment cop Quaid and assistant district attorney Barkin come together to investigate a New Orleans Mob killing, but their conflicting moral codes threaten to take the heat out of their steamy affair. Ned Beatty and John Goodman provide gritty support, while McBride brings the unique quality of the city to throbbing life.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
Lieutenant Remy McSwain of Homicide (Quaid) comes from a long line of venal cops, and although he does little more than... read more on Time Out
- Time Out
- Posted 04 Nov 2008
Sassy, easy-going melodrama with comedy asides.
- Halliwell's Film Guide
- Posted 02 Mar 2006

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- The Big Easy
  
  In this steamy, spicy mystery a prosecutor is sent to New Orleans to investigate police corruption. All the evidence points to a Cajun detective she falls in love with immediately, and though the trial forces him temporarily off the squad it doesn't stop him from investigating the case or from ...