Colorful stories that twist themselves into pretzels of mythic proportion are the soul of The Search for One-Eye Jimmy (1993), a neighborhood comedy in the vein of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989) and Tony Bill's Five Corners (1987) but closer kin to Mario Monicelli's Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) in its fondness for low characters of dim prospects, and of curbside mores and inopportune bodily functions. Most scenes have an improvisatory feel not often to the film's benefit; even performers who routinely tender brilliance (Buscemi, Jackson, Turturro) are often left flailing in the service of pointless eccentricity, landing the odd laugh but wearing out their welcome before the cut. Additional support is provided by Nick and Aida Turturro, Michael Badalucco, Anne Mera, professional boxer Ray Mancini, future indie filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan (as a bald cameraman the locals dub Mr. Magoo) and Tony Sirico, later a star of the HBO juggernaut The Sopranos. The image of actor Frank Vincent (Raging Bull [1989], Casino [1995] appears on political flyers throughout the film, without comment.
Kino Lorber's rollout of their The Search for One-Eye Jimmy is cursory at best and the provenance of its slipcase blurbs (thumbs up from both Listal.com and Mick Martin and Marsha Porter's Video & DVD Guide) speaks volumes. Letterboxed at 1.85:1, the transfer is certainly acceptable, making a two decade old shot-on-the-fly independent feature look as good as it possibly can, and the stereo soundtrack is clear. Extras are limited - and how - to a still gallery of exactly seven images, apart from which the only other supplements are two trailers for other films offered by Kino Lorber.
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by Richard Harland Smith
