A Low Down Dirty Shame

Considering that Keenan Ivory Wayans is a comedian, I was impressed with the way that he handled this action-comedy which he starred in and directed. A not so far cry away from his comedic success with his "blaxploitation" spoof "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka", Keenan manages to fare well with good action sequences and stick a lot of funny s*** along the way. Jada Pinkett lives up to comedic expectations as the sexy but tough assistant to Shame as Peaches. It's a good action-comedy to rent, but put the kids to bed before you watch it. The movie has plenty of violence, adult content and plenty of raw language.

This movie is far from perfect, but it holds a special place in my heart. I grew up with it and it always makes me laugh. It is essentially a comedic version of Shaft with noir elements to it. The cast is amazing. Keenan Ivory Wayans, Charles S. Dutton, and Andrew Divoff are great as a always. Jada Pinkett and Salli Richardson are just gorgeous and they both deliver very strong performances. Corwin Hawkins, may he rest in peace, is easily my favorite character in the movie. He is HILARIOUS in the movie and steals every scene he is in. "Good morning shaaaaaaame." He is hysterical in the movie. The movie is also action packed and entertaining from beginning to end. The soundtrack is also pretty dope too. Yes the movie has flaws, but its a funny, fun, hangout, Friday night movie. Sit back and enjoy.

Check it out.

Plot: A black detective becomes embroiled in a web of danger while searching for a fortune in missing drug money. During the course of his investigation, he encounters various old connections, ultimately confronting the criminal responsible for Shame's expulsion from the force. He must also deal with two women, Angela, a beautiful old flame, and Peaches, his energetic but annoying sidekick.

This is easily my favorite Keenan Ivory Wayans directed film. This combines action and comedy very well within its story. The cast all play their roles very well, especially Keenan and Jada Pinkett Smith who delivers some of the funniest lines of the movie. The jokes don't feel forced and help drive the story forwarded unlike a lot of comedies these days who like to repeat the same joke over and over again. I wish more comedies nowadays were more like this.

Overall, A Low Down Dirty Shame is a very underrated action comedy that delivers on the laughs, action, and has s good straight forwarded story That holds its own. Check this out if you haven't seen it, you will not regret it.

After all these years, I can finally scratch this one off the list. I'm a big fan of Keenen's work. Who doesn't love In Living Color and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, c'mon now! But somehow Shame went under my radar.

Straight up, it wasn't as good as I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, which is pure comedy gold. But it was definitely a perfect movie to watch after coming home from work and just wanting something that doesn't involve a lot of thinking but still fun to watch.

Everything about this movie is pretty mediocre: the action lacks explosions, the gun play is a little tame, and the bad guy isn't very "bad." What saves this movie is Keenen's charisma. The dude is really funny and can carry flimsy plot all the way to the end. It felt as if he were missing an equally strong partner, such as Lethal Weapon's set up, but Jada sorta fills that role with her strong personality. I just wish they would have given her more screen time.

All in all, cool movie to chill out with.

I enjoyed this film, and it holds up fairly well with repeated viewings.

But more importantly, this film has historical importance.

First of all, this film is drawing very heavily on Hong Kong action thrillers at a time when these were just getting attention in the US.

Secondly, compare this film very carefully with the Samuel Jackson "remake" of "Shaft", released - with enormous hype - in 2000.

I don't know why Wayans didn't sue for plagiarism. Samuel Jackson's Shaft is Shame without humor.

Unfortunately, the humor is absolutely essential to this story. For one thing, it creates a "black" identity that is capable of rising above any Hollywood appropriation of it. Shame's secretary - and real romantic interest - is a strong black woman - a character type that Hollywood has finally admitted actually exists only very recently, since about 2001.

So Samuel Jackson's Shaft gets a x-million dollars promo, and still can't come up with an interesting story (although it was nice to see Richard roundtree on the screen again).

Meanwhile, let's talk about entertainment - alright, there are some bits that don't work; but enough do to keep the film moving. I had good time; what the heck.