Search - A Low Down Dirty Shame on DVD

If you take is seriously then you're totally missing the poi

Inspector Gadget | On the trail of Doctor Claw | 02/24/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A Low Down Dirty Shame is really no more than all the most familiar Cop movie clichés arranged in an order that makes a barely cohesive story. But it's all the fun and silly action that occurs in between that really matters! It's a bit like The Last Boy Scout from a spoof-blaxploitation angle.



Shame (Keenan Ivory Wayans) is a former cop who has been blackballed after a major drugs bust went awry, leaving several DEA agents dead. He now works as a private detective, taking on suicide missions for peanuts and barely scraping by. His disapproving secretary Peaches (a very funny and very, very small Jada Pinkett) wants him to get his act together but he's too busy wallowing in self-pity.



His old pal from the DEA shows up and offers him a side mission to help get back at the Drug Kingpin who ruined his career. And so, with only a few clues, Shame begins his search and soon all roads lead to lies and deception. Like I said, the plot is certainly nothing special. But it does contain a helluva lot of laughs and decent action.



The one thing I can complain of is that the production design is kind of dated now. Action films have evolved so much in the past decade that watching ALDDS 12 years on can be a bit distracting. Wayans (who also directs as well as writing and starring) too often shoots non-actions scenes like a sitcom and his light-hearted editing may help remind you that this totally AIN'T a serious film but it's a little TV-ish if you know what I mean.



If you find ALDDS for cheap somewhere or if it's showing on TV then don't con yourself out of a fun movie. High art is not what this film aims to be.



The DVD has a slightly soft 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer with a Dolby 5.1 sound design. There are zero extras."

Another of my favorites

S. M. Anderson | Lithia Springs, GA | 02/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Keenan plays a down and out PI named Shame, with his wanna be PI Assistant Peaches (played by Jada Pinkett). Shame finds out the love of his life is back in town and does what he can to save her. Peaches wants Shame to notice her, and does everything to get him to do so. The movie is fun, filled with action, and will have you laughing in some parts. I Love this movie!!!"

A Low Down Dirty Shame. The "Shaft" for the nineties.

S. M. Anderson | 04/29/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

""A Low Down Dirty Shame " at first looks like another predictable, poorly acted and unfunny action/comedy, but release it from it's box and you've got the complete opposite. It is very funny, unpredicatble (apart from the ending) and the action is way above the unrealistic scenes of "schwarzenegger" films. But most of all, it's entertaining. This has got to be the "Shaft" for the nineties, Keenan Ivory Wayans matching style with smoothness. It is an action/comedy to end all action/comedies, and add in a funny, aggressive Jada Pikett and you've got a film that will keep your interest for a long time."

A Low Down Dirty Shame REVIEW

Crazy Jim | Massachusetts | 10/30/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Beverly Hills Cop" meets "Shaft" with wise-cracking Wayans as a private investigator who must track down his former love interest to bring down a drug dealer he thought he killed many years ago. Jada Pinkett joins the ride as Shame's sassy assistant, Peaches. Shame has two days to find Angela (the beautiful Salli Richardson), his former fiance who is now working as a federal witness against crime boss, Mendoza (Andrew Divoff). Under the guise of his mentor, Sonny (Charles Dutton) and with the help of his female sidekick, Shame goes back to work with action-packed results. "Low Down Dirty Shame" is a little bit of everything. Wayans' script provides action, comedy, and a little bit of romance into a nice homage to 70's black action pics. The cast in "Low Down" does its job and does it well. Wayans has fun playing the hero as he bungee-dives out of an exploding sporting goods store, uses James Brown routines to thwart a group of attacking guard dogs, and leads a Coloumbian nemesis through a KKK convention. Pinkett is surprisingly good as the comedy sidekick. What can one say about Salli Richardson? Well, let's just say her performance is very, very easy on the eyes. The concluding cat fight with her and Pinkett is a nice touch."