You’re often at a loss to know why you’re laughing, but jokes you can’t explain may be the best kind, and Mazursky is a master of them. When he gets rolling, you’re not responding to single jokes -- it’s the whole gestalt of the movie that’s funny.

"Down and Out,"... is a failed fish-out-of-water story.

On the basically farcical level where it chooses to stay, it is a funny and likable movie.

Why isn't it funnier? That it's an American remake of a French comedy seems to say it all.