VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

writers_reign Most of the people writing here seemed to enjoy this out of all proportion to its actual worth. It's a very pedestrian story of police corruption and police corruption in a Southern state where - as far as non-American audiences are concerned - police corruption is as natural as corn-pone and hominy grits. Outsider Ellen Barkin - an assistant District Attorney sent to root out the corruption - is ready to compromise her position by sleeping with one of the suspects within hours of meeting him and even when she sees with her own eyes that he is on the pad and literally prosecutes him in court, she still continues to sleep with him. Realistic? Without doubt and if you don't believe me ask Elvis, he's busing tables in Denny's even as we speak.

seymourblack-1 "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.

Prof-Hieronymos-Grost Det. Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is a New Orleans cop investigating the seemingly routine death of a wise guy, he is surprised by the amount of interest being shown by the new District Attorney Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin). McSwain is a cocky fun loving kind of guy and he is soon trying it on with Osborne. She doesn't resist to hard but soon she realises she must end this relationship as there will be a conflict of interest as she is also investigating corruption in his precinct. Mc Swain is entrapped by an Internal Affairs sting, but when evidence goes missing, Mc Swain is cleared. As the bodies build up in the seemingly escalating gang war, Mc Swain and Osborne finally come together to as real truth is revealed. Decent Neo Noir, that doesn't take itself too seriously playing a lot scenes for laughs. It also follows the seemingly de-rigeur 80's phenomenon that all Noirs need to be steamy, although this one doesn't quite ratchet up the sexiness as much as others of the era. The ending is the low point of the film, its very abrupt and a little to Disney for this crime fan.

paul2001sw-1 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.