Movies I Don't Get: Bad Lieutenant

Ahhh, Bad Lieutenant (1992). I wasn't quite sure what I was in for when I began watching this film. Were we talking "bad" as in "evil"? "Corrupt"? Or merely "incompetent"? (The latter case might've made an okay Naked Gun sequel, perhaps.)

Instead, it's a harrowing tale of decadence and redemption, starring Harvey Keitel - no doubt cast as the titular character because of his stunning portayal as a corrupt lieutenant in the movie Corrupt Lieutenant (1983). And this Lieutenant is indeed bad - perhaps the most unbelievable aspect of the film is that the guy was able to get promoted to this level. Which, of course, worries me about our local law enforcement.

So here's a test to see whether you, in the day of moral ambiguity, know the thin blue line that separates a bad lieutenant from a good one:

	Ravenously gobbles vodka while both on the job and driving Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant
	Yells expletives at his stunned children Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant
	Fires at unarmed, suspected convenience store robbers at pointblank range Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant
	Fires at unarmed car radio, screaming in anguish Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant
	Smuggles bags of cocaine from crime scenes, with the intention of later selling them Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant
	Snorts cocaine at the wheel ("Gotta test out the merchandise," he explains) Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant
	Snorts cocaine off a photo of his daughter's communion. Possibly more disturbing than Keitel's frontal nude scene. Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant
	Opens and consumes Little Debbie cake without paying Good Lieutenant    Bad Lieutenant