J O N O S W A L D
BEST ACTOR
"Blending extreme violence and uproariously funny dialogue, the film is most notable for its engaging characters, which include a moving turn from Animal Kingdom’s Nicki Micheaux as a motel owner plagued by regret, a deathly serious Ricardo Adam Zarate as a luchador turned bodyguard struggling to live up to his father’s legacy, and Jon Oswald as perhaps the most lovable ex-con with a swastika face tattoo ever committed to film."
"Writing about the Tarantino-esque joyride through the grimy criminal underbelly of Los Angeles that is director Ryan Prows’ action-comedy Lowlife, we couldn’t help but make a crack about Randy (Jon Oswald), the “least racist guy ever forced to get a swastika face tattoo in prison”—not only for the “wait, what?” factor, but because Oswald really is one of the highlights of the film."
"Randy’s loud, abrasive, and oh yeah, there’s the matter of the giant swastika he tattooed over his face while he was in lock up, but the combination of Lowlife’s zany script and Oswald’s standout performance make him the most compelling, surprising character of the lot."
"It’s hard to name an MVP because they all pull massive weights, but Oswald–tasked with being the Nazi-tatted Jiminy Cricket–earns a special mention for being consistently funny and thought-provoking. His character, Randy, is the prime example of the challenge the writers gave themselves: “Let’s make a swastika-faced ex-con into a hero” is at the top of the pile. The fact that they pulled it all off is what cements Lowlife as a soaring, dark comic success."
"The cast of unknowns are all engaging and make you want to know more about their characters. Kudos should go to Jon Oswald. His character, ex-con Randy, has a swastika tattooed on his face. It is a brave actor who will agree to their face being disfigured at all, but to agree to having something as controversial as that symbol painted on them is the bravest of them all. It isn’t just a shock-tactic either, there’s a plausible reason for it’s existence and it later serves the narrative perfectly."
"The most overtly comic figure here is Keith’s pal, Randy (Jon Oswald), newly released from prison: Randy has been away a long time — long enough to not quite grasp that the swastika he’s gotten tattooed all over his face might provide a slight hindrance to societal re-intregration. Yet he, like most of the characters here, proves to have some surprising hidden sides to a seemingly irredeemable personality. The performances are all strong, from Micheaux’s strongly sympathetic turn as the one relatively pure soul in this down-market moral morass, to the more flamboyant (but still disciplined) characters played by Zarate, Burnham and Oswald. The assembly is astute on all levels."
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"I’m telling you right now that “Thugs” will be your favorite stretch. Shaye Ogbonna and Jon Oswald are no-argument standouts in Lowlife. Oswald’s Wonderbread-ass gringo exits prison with a gigantic swastika tattooed on his face. First reactions are uncomfortable and dumbfounding, until Oswald launches into his Malibu’s Most Wanted meets 8 Mile schtick and somehow makes the obscenity work. His face reads confused disgust, which Oswald combats by explaining that prison is just one big race war. The tattoo meant survival (not an excuse mind you, but Prows somehow pulls off the woke-defying stunt). Plus it gives Oswald the chance to deliver crowd-slaying lines like “Not cool bro, you don’t know my struggle” after being negged for his Nazi artwork. The chemistry between Ogbonna and Oswald is dynamic, comical and racially hilarious."
"From here, we kick back in time for the third segment, “Thugs,” which follows Teddy’s accountant, Keith (Shaye Ogbonna), who is picking up his childhood friend, Randy (Jon Oswald), from prison, where he served eleven years for a crime that Keith committed. It’s here that the film’s sly sense of humor kicks into high gear, as Randy, a lanky white dude in a track suit who talks like a white rapper, greets his black friend with a giant swastika tattooed across his face. Randy is oblivious to the effect, and instead pines for Compton and waxes poetically about a home cooked meal of chitlins and rice."
"Easily one of the funniest performances of the year so far, Oswald's Randy is a white male ex-con who is totally street smart but somethow confused that having a swastika tattooed on his pale, white face is an issue. Oswald...is perfect."
"Acting, here, is routinely superb. This is actually quite a feat considering how outrageous the characters are on paper. Avoiding spoilers, one section focuses on a chap called Randy (Jon Oswald) who’s basically a criminal Eminemogram with a heart of gold and one Keith (Shaye Ogbonna), a mild-mannered accountant who is nevertheless nifty with his fists. Watching these two debate race while one has a large swastika across his face is a delightfully peculiar surprise with a fantastically surreal comic streak."
"This film had me laughing my ass off in one scene (particularly at Jon Oswald) and then cheering on the ass-kicking women in the next. The brilliantly diverse cast meshes together to inhabit this rich world in such a way that challenges other films to be more selective with their casting choices."
"This tale of flawed humans pushed to the brink of morality and civility in order to re-instill morality and civility onto a world being dragged down to Hell is one that succeeds on its own merits. Its characters are unforgettably batty yet impressively noble (see Zarate’s Monstruo and Oswald’s Randy for the strongest contradictions), sympathetic yet fierce (Micheaux’s resonate complexity revealed economically with honesty). And their actions consistently achieve dramatic merit despite always culminating with a joke. Who says a message of honor can’t also be fun?"
"Keith (Shaye Ogbonna) and Randy (Jon Oswald) were once dumb law-breaking kids together. But one bad brush with the law landed the latter in jail, and sent the other on a mostly legit route. When Keith goes to pick-up Randy on his release from an 11-year stretch in prison, he’s a seemingly upstanding family man with a baby seat in the back seat of his responsible car, a cake in his arms, and cardigan over his shoulders. On the other hand, Randy sidles out spouting street slang like “homey,” drowning in an oversized warm-up suit in a vibrant blue, and sporting a massive swastika tattoo across the middle of his face. It’s an odd couple so odd, the audience was practically giddy to see them take on “one last job” that’ll lead to a spectacular and brutal finale where all threads collide. It’s a special mix of outrageousness and obliviousness that Lowlife plays for laughs, and it pays off with big ones."
PAJIBA
"Aside from its structural strengths, the film is extremely well-acted. The performers create vivid characters who are a pleasure to follow, even when doing less than admirable things. There's not a weak link in the group. The absolute standout, though, is Jon Oswald, who wrings huge laughs out of Randy's alternate annoyance at, and acceptance of, his inconvenient tattoo."