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.

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.

There are some films that you can't decide whether the film is good or bad. On whether the film is worth the watch or you're better off doing some other more meaningful things. This film is one of it.

As I said, you might like it, you might not.

The acting a little bit over the top, but I think that's what the producer intended to do. The jokes may at times be quite crude, but maybe it's exactly the way it was suppose to be.

Worth a mention here is Jada Pinkett acting. She's quite good ! And I like her hairstyle too. Not that it has any bearing of the quality of acting though, just wanted to let you guys know.

Over all, the film is nice to watch, if you don't take it seriously.

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 get the idea that the movie was tongue in cheek, and there are some good laughs, but the acting is terrible and it felt like a cheap 80's straight to video movie. Just not my thing, but I can understand why some will like it.