Realizing that my June Rewards coupon (good through July 15) would expire
soon if I didn't use it, I hastened to Video Blockbuster on July 12. I looked in vain for MACROSS PLUS, THE MOVIE, then for the legendary DINGO. I was about to leave the D's and move on to the F's to check for THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON when a title caught my eye. DOWN BY LAW? DOWN BY LAW! Bingo!

IThe best thing about DOWN BY LAW, for those of us unfortunate enough to have seen LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL and THE MONSTER, is how subdued and restrained Roberto Benigni's performance is compared to his manic chimpanzee antics in those later movies. The second best thing is how ultra-megacool Tom Waits is as the surly cringing cowardly resentful boozed-up whining muttering pathetically thin and weak ex-DJ Zach, whose most prized possession is a pair of shiny pointed shoes. The third best thing is the scene where the cop stays behind to "comfort" the little girl after Jack (the pimp, played by John Lurie) has been set up and arrested. Sick! Sick sick sick! If he saw the film, Jodorowsky (the genius behind EL TOPO) must have admired that little Jarmoosh boy for having the audacity to make such a scene. The fourth best thing is the scene in which our heroes almost start a prison riot by chanting, "I scream for ice cream!" Silly! Silly silly silly! Once again, Jodorowsky would approve.

The soundtrack is scratchy and uneven, some of the music grates, the editing has left gaps in the story (we don't get to see the escape from the prison yard!), and in general the film is clumsy, amateurish, and obviously underbudgeted compared to DEAD MAN and GHOST DOG, but DOWN BY LAW is a fun movie nonetheless, and it's fascinating to see the incipient expression of the director's interest in Eastern philosophy, Western poetry, and the polar extremes of baseness and nobility in human behavior.

My rating on the Watson scale: 3 (though a must see for anyone who has seen and enjoyed Jarmusch’s later movies)