What makes this film almost unbearable for me is the script's dreadful protagonist, Det. Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid). Through most of the plot, he's insulting, unprofessional, flippant, and has a juvenile obsession with sex. Basically, he's a jerk. If he had been any more overtly pawing over Anne (Ellen Barkin), we could have just deleted the thriller scenes altogether, and added more sex, to generate a light romantic comedy. The casting of Dennis Quaid helps not at all. He's too young here to be taken seriously as a detective; and that smirk just reeks of sophomoric impudence.
The script's dialogue is over-the-top flippant, with witty one-liners meant to charm the audience, which is inconsistent with a story that deals with a serious crime investigation. It's as if the writers couldn't decide if they wanted a thriller, a love story, or a comedy, so they settled for a mishmash of all of the above.
Further, no matter what a jerk Remy is, or what secrets he may be hiding, Anne is easily taken in by him, providing the romantic angle, but suggesting a weak-willed woman who lets her personal attraction to a man interfere with her professional work as a detective.
The film's plot clichés are typical for a 1980s film, including obligatory sex scenes, explosions, several plot points, and locale stereotypes with exaggerated Cajun accents. All this just screams ... a film produced by Hollywood insiders who will write a stale, unbelievable story if it's what they think the audience wants.
There's nothing wrong with the visuals. Cinematography is acceptable, and so too are production design and editing. I did indeed like the Cajun music.
The thriller component had fine potential. And I like the setting in New Orleans. But the script's annoying characters, plot clichés, and awful dialogue make the film hard to like. That, combined with some bad casting, renders "The Big Easy" well below average.
The script's dialogue is over-the-top flippant, with witty one-liners meant to charm the audience, which is inconsistent with a story that deals with a serious crime investigation. It's as if the writers couldn't decide if they wanted a thriller, a love story, or a comedy, so they settled for a mishmash of all of the above.
Further, no matter what a jerk Remy is, or what secrets he may be hiding, Anne is easily taken in by him, providing the romantic angle, but suggesting a weak-willed woman who lets her personal attraction to a man interfere with her professional work as a detective.
The film's plot clichés are typical for a 1980s film, including obligatory sex scenes, explosions, several plot points, and locale stereotypes with exaggerated Cajun accents. All this just screams ... a film produced by Hollywood insiders who will write a stale, unbelievable story if it's what they think the audience wants.
There's nothing wrong with the visuals. Cinematography is acceptable, and so too are production design and editing. I did indeed like the Cajun music.
The thriller component had fine potential. And I like the setting in New Orleans. But the script's annoying characters, plot clichés, and awful dialogue make the film hard to like. That, combined with some bad casting, renders "The Big Easy" well below average.