The Big Easy

Dennis Quaid, he’s a puzzler. He has a natural charisma that transfers so easily to the movie screen, it’s like he isn’t even trying. But then there’s the films where it’s truly like he isn’t even trying. Take “The Big Easy” (1986), a New Orleans whodunit exacerbated by Ellen Barkin’s weak portrayal of a district attorney. Quaid’s uneven Cajun accent comes off like a horrible impersonation of a deaf person. Of course, he’s playing a guy that acts like he doesn’t give a shit, so he almost pulls it off, but you always wonder whether Quaid himself actually gives a shit.

Undercover Blues

One night, Stanley Tucci will be at a Manhattan cocktail party. All his frufru friends and New York Times execs will be telling him what a great artist he is. Then somebody’s boozy boyfriend will mention “Undercover Blues” (1993), where Tucci plays a version of Tony Montana that is more schtickup than stickup. He’ll think back to that awful movie, serving as slapstick foil to Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner. As he’s about to punch the drunk, he’ll suddenly feel a hand on his shoulder. “Fuck it,” Dave Chappelle, his movie hoodlum sidekick will say, “we’re still getting residual checks.”

The Right Stuff

“The Right Stuff” (1983) was nominated for Best Picture and lost to “Terms of Endearment.” Sam Shepard (who plays a badass test pilot) was nominated for Best Actor and lost to Jack Nicholson (who plays a pretend astronaut) from “Terms.” (I’ve never seen “Terms.”) “The Right Stuff” has slipped from the public consciousness. That’s unfortunate, because it’s a modern-day epic about the birth of the U.S. space program. It is also epic in length (193 minutes), which might be why it is overlooked. It’s worth sitting through just to learn Chuck Yeager’s story and peek behind NASA’s sanitized public image.