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 As Shakespeare’s Juliet said, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet."
The director of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Werner Herzog, would probably have to agree with Juliet. He lost the fight to change the name of his most recent film, which stars Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes. He said that even though it’s named after a film released in 1992, it is in no way a remake. Herzog (who directed 1982’s Fitzcarraldo) is right because the only thing that the two films have in common is a loose premise about a rogue cop who abuses the badge because of his severe drug addiction.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a soaring achievement for Cage, who plays the titular lieutenant with passion and intensity oozing from his every pore. The gritty crime drama itself is just as wonderfully forceful, but also sprinkled with a sense of humor that pokes fun at its own genre.
After injuring his back, Lieutenant Terence McDonagh (Cage) becomes addicted to painkillers (and coke and heroin) and starts recklessly gambling and accepting sexual bribes. He’s not all bad, though, because he seems to have a soft spot for a stunning and fragile prostitute played by Eva Mendes. But McDonagh’s wild ways have a tendency to piss off some pretty powerful people.
While the original script called for the story to take place in New York, the producers and Herzog moved the setting of Bad Lieutenant to New Orleans, post Katrina. The city in ruins, with people who have removed themselves from society’s normal confines, is the perfect location for a story about the unraveling of a human being.
 For openly saying that he dislikes the drug culture, Herzog succeeds at taking viewers on a real trip. He sneaks in strange, surreal scenes involving iguanas and alligators. Audiences become completely wrapped up in the lieutenant’s world, Cage’s haunting laugh echoing in our brains.
A crime cop drama can easily become a cheesy, overdramatized affair, but Herzog avoids that pitfall by not taking himself too seriously. There’s a sly wink to the audience that proves a filmmaker can have some fun even when creating a serious movie.
The film is shot wonderfully as well, further solidifying audiences in the lieutenant’s tripped out world. The cinematographer, Peter Zeitlinger, has worked with Herzog for a number of years, and their strong relationship shows.
The world of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans orbits around Cage’s character. Because of this, Mendes becomes very one-note, used only to further the drama surrounding the lieutenant. While her character, Frankie, is flawed and more interesting than the work she’s done in the past, this is not the role that will lead to more serious parts for Mendes.
 Also vastly underused is Jennifer Coolidge, who plays McDonagh’s alcoholic mom. She proves that she can deliver a dramatic role with as much flair as she’s ever handled a comedic role. Val Kilmer plays a fellow cop, Brad Dourif plays a patient bookie and Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner plays a powerful drug king. While all three of them make fine contributions to the movie, their scenes are short because, let’s face it, this is Cage’s show.
It’s clear that Herzog gave the actors, especially Cage, the freedom to really create their characters. In one scene, Mendes and Coolidge fight over a purse, and it’s obvious that the scene was left to their improvisation. Bad Lieutenant’s characters, therefore, feel more real than a script could ever make them. This freedom is the perfect medicine for Cage. It becomes difficult to see where the lieutenant ends and Cage begins, in the best of ways.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans could easily become a cult film favorite, or loved by all sorts of people, even those who hate cop dramas. Who knows what Herzog would have named the film if it were up to him, but regardless of the name, Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant is very, very sweet.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is now playing in theaters.
For more information, visit the film’s official Web site.
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