Bad Lieutenant Movie Review

This is a guy movie with heavy doses of Catholic gobbledy-gook. Harvey Keitel is the Bad Lieutenant, and his award-winning performance will keep you watching despite the scumminess of his character. In one sequence, he stops a couple of young girls in a car and won't let them go unless they'll let him masturbate while he ogles them—yuchhh…. “What a lech!” one male viewer yelled as he laughed affectionately. Some guys worship every frame of this film and re-play the final sequence over and over again on video. Whatever turns ‘em on, I guess, but for this viewer, once was way too much. The script was co-written by Abel Ferrara and 1981's Ms. 45 herself, Zoe Tamerlaine, now Zoe Lund.

1992 (NC-17) 98m/C Harvey Keitel, Brian McElroy, Frankie Acciario, Peggy Gormley, Stella Keitel, Victor Argo, Paul Calderone, Leonard Thomas, Frankie Thorn; D: Abel Ferrara; W: Zoe Tamerlaine Lund, Abel Ferrara; M: Joe Delia. Independent Spirit Awards ‘93: Best Actor (Keitel). VHS, LV, Closed Caption, DVD