I typically do not review movies but the accents in this movie are the worst. I thought I was going to put it on, half ignore it, and write a paper for school. The accents are so bad I wound up watching it out of pure schadenfreude. I was almost crying laughing at how bad it was. No one says, "Lake Pontchartrain," calls everyone "cher," or refers to the city as "the Big Easy" on an even remotely regular basis. The best (worst) party is the failure to use the actual dialect and how Quaid's accent drifts in and out. Why wouldn't they just speak normally?!? Live and Let Die succeeded thirteen years earlier with an English production company.The only reason I will ever watch this again is to share it with friends so we can all laugh at it.

The Bayou comes alive with Wiseguy bullets and romantic sparks in this occasionally smoldering romantic thriller, starring Dennis Quaid as a less than scrupulous New Orleans detective investigating a series of local Mafia murders, while having both his conscience and his libido aroused by sultry District Attorney Ellen Barkin. The familiar details of Southern vice and depravity are shaded with plenty of Cajun color and brought to life by a supporting cast of offbeat characters, but underneath all the incidental scenery is a routine action scenario not far enough removed from any other conventional Hollywood cop show. Even worse: the very real erotic tension between the two lovers is allowed to fizzle after only one kiss, transforming tough, resourceful DA Barkin into little more than a lovestruck puppy dog and thereby all but eliminating her from the plot. It never shows enough ambition to qualify as a bad movie, but too many wasted opportunities can't help but leave an aftertaste of mild disappointment.

It's always interesting when Hollywood tries to sell movies to the public as something other than what they are. It's not as common now, when so many movies seem to start out as marketing campaigns long before they become stories. It didn't use to be unusual, though, for filmmakers to create one sort of movie and the studio to try and sell it too the public as something else. When The Big Easy first came out in theaters, I recall the ads for it making it seem like it was some sort of erotic thriller. It's actually a pretty good romantic comedy with a little extra dash of violence.Unsurprisingly set in New Orleans, the star of this story is Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid), a police lieutenant in the homicide division. Remy's a genuine Cajun boy, complete with accent and a laissez faire attitude toward things like ethics and department regulations. He's called in to investigate the murder of a local wise guy and is joined on the case by a new assistant district attorney, Ann Osborn (Ellen Barkin), who's assigned to police corruption cases but is very interested in this mob slaying. Remy's not that interested in her assistance, but he really, really wants to get into her pants. After relentlessly hitting on her in a way that would get him charged with sexual harassment nowadays, they end up in bed before Remy is called away to a double murder. These two new African-American victims appear to be the ones that killed the first mobster, and Remy theorizes that there's a drug war going on in New Orleans between the Italian mafia and the voodoo-tinged, black organized criminals in town.Remy and Ann's investigation is cut short when he's caught up in the famous corruption of the New Orleans police force. The Big Easy depicts local law enforcement as awash in graft and payoffs. Remy is caught on tape discussing bribe money with a tavern owner and Ann is assigned to prosecute his case. It seems like Remy is sure to be convicted, but he manages to get the charges dismissed with a little help from his friends. Ann is infuriated and wants nothing more to do with him and more bodies pile up as the supposed drug war rages on. To get the girl back, Remy has to actually become the good guy he's always imagined himself to be and then the two of them have to uncover who's really behind these killings and why.Some people might quibble with me calling The Big Easy a romantic comedy, but there's way too many jokes and funny performances in this film to consider it a drama. And while the twin plot threads of the alleged drug war and police corruption are well developed, the most important thing in the movie is the relationship between Remy and Ann. In fact, what makes this such a good movie is that it utilizes so many non-traditional story elements for a romantic comedy. It doesn't have to go through a bunch of ridiculous contortions to keep its two lovebirds apart, generating a fresh and lively energy in the story.The greatest strength of the film is in the performances of its two lead actors. Quaid creates a horny and lovable scoundrel in Remy, a cop who thinks as long as he doesn't break the big laws, he can ignore all the little ones. Barkin is extremely sexy as Ann, letting us see a woman full of repressed desire just yearning to break free. They have great chemistry together, whether they're fussing or smootching. There are also some funny supporting performances from John Goodman, Tom O'Brien and Lisa Jane Persky as Remy's fellow cops.The Big Easy would be a smart choice for a date movie. There's just enough mushy, emotional stuff for the girl and just enough people getting shot for the boy. It's like the perfect Reese's Peanut Butter Rom-Com.

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.