History Film / TheBigEasy

* SlapSlapKiss: She's a straight-laced DA from out of state, he's a good cop who nonetheless bends the rules because that's how things are done in town. Their relationship couldn't be any other way.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Mostly to demonstrate how loose the rules are in the South, but Remy investigates a crime scene while under investigation, which is certain to cause any evidence discovered to get thrown out. Not to mention his abbreviation of the Miranda Rights.
-->'''Remy''': An officer will be along to get you in a few minutes. If you so much as get your fingerprints on my car, they will kick your ass. Do you understand your rights?

-->'''[=DeSoto=], after being relieved of two knives, a blackjack, brass knuckles, two revolvers, and a derringer''': ''And if that don't work, I piss on 'em''

-->'''Anne''': ''Where's the boat?''

-->'''Bobby [=McSwain=]''': ''Why are you wearing that get-up? Mardi Gras ain't til February.''

A 1987 comedic neo-noir thriller set in (where else?) [[TheBigEasy New Orleans]], directed by Jim [=McBride=] and starring Creator/DennisQuaid and Ellen Barkin.

A 1987 thriller starring Creator/DennisQuaid and Ellen Barkin, set in (where else?) [[TheBigEasy New Orleans]].

* BewareTheSillyOnes: Remy qualifies, being a bit of a prankster AND an effective police officer. Also, [[spoiler:[=DeSoto=] and Dodge. Despite being comic relief for the majority of the movie, they are the primary pushers behind the conspiracy of detectives faking a gang war to steal drugs from the various criminal organizations.

-->'''[=DeSoto=], after being relieved of two knives, a blackjack, two revolvers, and a derringer''': ''And if that don't work, I piss on 'em''

* MobWar: The driving conflict behind the story. [[spoiler:Except not. The conflict is being manufactured by DirtyCops]]

* BlackSheep: Remy's entire family are police officers... except one brother, whose a fireman

-->'''[=DeSoto=], after being relieved of his third knife and brass knuckles''': ''And if that don't work, I spit on 'em''

* ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans: [[AvertedTrope Averted]], although the movie has it's cake and eats it too by having a murder occur in a warehouse where the floats are stored and later having a band practicing for the parade during one scene.

* LoveRedeems: It isn't until Anne shows him exactly how letting the little things slip have hurt him that Remy stops being a DirtyCop and starts living up to his potential as a GoodCop

* ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans: [[AvertedTrope Averted]], although the movie has it's cake and eats it too by having a murder occur in a warehouse where the floats are stored.

* {{Sexophone}}: Naturally, in an early Dennis Quaid movie.

-->'''Bobby McSwain''': ''Why are you wearing that get-up? Mardi Gras ain't til February.''

* ExtendedDisarming: Detective DeSoto, in an infamous sequence
-->'''DeSoto, after being relieved of his last knife and brass knuckles''': And if that don't work, I spit on 'em

* MistakenFromBehind: Anne sees Bobby [=McSwain=] rummaging through the fridge and mistakes him for his brother Remy, with embarrassing consequences. See MistakenForObjectOfAffection, above.

* DirtyCop: Played with. As Creator/RogerEbert put it, "[[=McSwain=]] is an honest cop in the ways that really count and a dishonest cop in small ways he has been able to rationalize." To Anne, who is campaigning against corruption, it looks a lot worse than it probably is.

A 1987 thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin, set in (where else?) [[TheBigEasy New Orleans]].

* MistakenForObjectOfAffection: After a night of lovemaking, Anne mistakes Bobby [=McSwain=] for his brother Remy, coming up behind him and pinching his ass. The brothers aren't all that identical, but given that she had no reason to expect any other man in the house and her view of Bobby was mostly of his rear end as he bent to rummage through the fridge, it is perhaps an understandable mistake.

A 1986 thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin, set in (where else?) [[TheBigEasy New Orleans]].

* MistakenForObjectOfAffection: After a night of lovemaking, Anne mistakes Bobby [=McSwain=] for his brother Remy, coming up behind him and pinching his ass. The brothers aren't all that identical, but given that she had no reason to expect any other man in the house and her view of Bobby was mostly of his rear end as be bent to rummage through the fridge, it is perhaps an understandable mistake.

* DirtyCop: Played with. As RogerEbert put it, "[[=McSwain=]] is an honest cop in the ways that really count and a dishonest cop in small ways he has been able to rationalize." To Anne, who is campaigning against corruption, it looks a lot worse than it probably is.

Remy [=McSwain=] (Quaid) is a mostly-honest cop investigating a series of gang killings; Anne Osborne (Barkin) is a special prosecutor for the district attorney on an anti-corruption campaign. They meet in the course of their work and quickly hit it off, but grapple over their different perspectives on justice. Meanwhile, those gang killings might not be gang killings after all, but something far more dangerous...

* DirtyCop: Played with. [As RogerEbert puts it, "[[=McSwain=]] is an honest cop in the ways that really count and a dishonest cop in small ways he has been able to rationalize."