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.
Review of The Big Easy
