***SPOILERS*** Confusing and jumbled crime drama involving a murder in LaSalle Parish Louisiana that can implicate the governor "Beak-Nose" Joe Breraton, Michael Arata, and not only destroy his bid for reelection but put him behind bars as well. It was LaSalle's Sheriff Darl Hardwick,Billy Bob Thorton, who started to get the ball rolling by coming across a dead body on the highway where a tractor-trailer carrying a truck-load of shoes overturned in order to avoid hitting a fleeing women who got it front of it.As things turned out the woman later identified as Mona, Cindy Roubal, a stripper at the Johnny Angel club in New Orleans was actually a man undergoing a sex change operation! It's when Mona's grieving "wife" Sacrlett, Pattricia Arquette, showed up at the local morgue to identify the body that things started jumping at the Parish. It's discovered that she, Moma, was involved with Governor "Beak-Nose" Beraton and his top honchos including Da' Judge (William Devane), who happened to be the biggest political power-broker in the state, the night she was murdered!As it soon came out Mona was invited by the Gov to preform at an exclusive sex club outside of LaSalle Parish doing her famous strip tease act. It's when it was discovered that she was in fact a man Mona was kicked out and left on her own with no way to get back home in the Big Easy! Shot by an unknown assailant Mona bleeding and running for her life ended up dead on the side of the road with a bullet in her, or his, back! It's now up to Sheriff Hardwick to track down Mona's killer but with Da' Gov Da' Judge and all the political big shots in the Perish determined not to let the truth of Mona's involvement with Da' Gov see the light of day it was Sheriff Hardwick not anyone else who found himself behind the eight ball!Then movie "The Badge" never really takes off and meanders around for a good 90 minutes with Sheriff Hardwick getting arrested in a statutory rape frame-up with 15 year old "Hardy Party Girl", Audrey Marie Anderson, whom he drove home after she passed out drunk at a club that Da' Gov attended. It's then that Hardwick drives down to New Orleans and finds out what Mona was all about which has both him and Scarlett, Mona's wife, almost killed by Da' Judge's goons! ***SPOILERS*** It's only at the very end that the movie starts to makes a bit of sense in what was the real motivation for poor Mona's murder! It was in a round about way connected to an anti-casino campaign lead by the holier then thou church lady Sister Felicia, Julie Hagerty, who tried to get the goods on Da' Gov "Beak-Nose" Joe Breraton, who was in favor of casino gambling in the state, by getting Mona to be connected with him! That in fact not only lead to Mona being thrown out in the dead of night from the sex club she was preforming at but later getting murdered by one of Sister Felicia's crazed bible thumping followers! An over emotional and semi-retarded religious nut who lost it when he found out that Mona was not exactly what she seemed to be!

I'm a big fan of Billy Bob. I usually like Patricia Arquette too. They do a decent acting job in this flick. The bad guys are pretty bad. The first two thirds are suspenseful and interesting. The premise is original. You really identify with Billy Bob. But at about the beginning of the last third it becomes a mess really rapidly. The script tries to resolve all the issues in about a minute. It's very confusing. Some of the ending is just a cop out. In conclusion, see it if you like Billy Bob. Considering it was "made for TV," it was better than you would expect. I don't recall their either of them has done TV before.

Badge seemed a fine movie to me.(8.5) Maybe I'm just a sucker for Billie Bob. The story is complicated but plausable and well acted. I'm not sure who was what but I'd watch it again to better understand what happend. Try it unless the basic theme turns you off!!!

I watched this film the other night just b/c I was raised in LaSalle Parish. I don't remember any of the places that they were showing in the movie though. Billy Bob had a great performance but I believe he is always good to some extent. Patricia Arquette was not in this movie enough to make a real judgement. As for the plot it was okay but I do remember coming from there and I do not remember anyone acting in the ways these people reacted. It was too fake to me b/c I lived there and know that these events are far fetched and kind of make the Parish look bad. Well all in all the movie was okay for what it was but unless I find it for cheap I will not own this title.