A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994)

Director:

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Writer (WGA):

Keenen Ivory Wayans (written by)

Release Date:

23 November 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

He's armed and dangerously funny.

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...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | White Supremacy | Explosion | Drug Lord | Homosexual

Cast

Keenen Ivory Wayans	...	Shame
Charles S. Dutton	...	Rothmiller
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Peaches (as Jada Pinkett)
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Angela (as Salli Richardson)
Andrew Divoff	...	Mendoza
Corwin Hawkins	...	Wayman
Gary Cervantes	...	Luis
Gregory Sierra	...	Captain Nunez
Kim Wayans	...	Diane
Andrew Shaifer	...	Bernard
Chris Spencer	...	Benny (as Christopher Spencer)
Devin DeVasquez	...	Mendoza's Girl (as Devin Devasquez)
John Capodice	...	Mob Boss
Craig Ryan Ng	...	Chun Yung Fat
Don Diamont	...	Chad

Also Known As:

Mister Cool

Runtime:

UK:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Caravan Pictures

Trivia:

Shame tells the bodyguard/thug (played by Sven-Ole Thorsen) to "say hello to Arnold for me" before hitting him with the gun. Thorsen has appeared on screen in nine different Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, did stunts and training for actors and stuntmen in many others, and was actually introduced to the movie business by Arnold, who knew him from when they used to do bodybuilding competitions together.

Goofs:

Continuity: When he calls Agent Rothmiller to let him know that he has located Angela, Shame doesn't identify himself to the telephonist. But when Rothmiller gets on the telephone, he knows that it is Shame.

Quotes:

Bernard: Yoo-hoo Wayman.
Wayman: Hey Bernard.
Shame: Excuse me, who's this?
Wayman: This is Bernard and what's wrong with you?
Shame: "The Bernard"?
Bernard: Yes it's me.
Shame: Homewrecker. He's with me.
Wayman: Shame. I can't believe you just.
Shame: You are my stuff and you know it girl.
Bernard: Stuff?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Notorious B.I.G.: Ready to Die - The Remaster (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

WATCH ME

If you take this seriously then you're totally missing the point!

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.