Dirty Work (1998)

reviewed by
Jon Popick


PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com

Dirty Work is America's best comedy. There. Now maybe MGM can use that quote in their newspaper ads. Apparently, the buzz on the film was so bad that they didn't screen it to the press until after the release date. I don't get it, because I thought the movie was very funny. In fact, I haven't laughed this hard since Ron Brown's helicopter crashed.

Funnyman Norm Macdonald stars as Mitch Weaver, a lifelong loser who finds himself fired and kicked out of his house in the opening reel. Mitch crashes at buddy Sam's (Lang, Mad TV) house, but not before his sex-crazed father (Jack Warden) has a massive coronary from watching aerobics on the telly.

Turns out Pops needs a heart transplant, which will run $50,000 according to the gambling-addict Doctor Farthing (Chase, Fletch). So, Mitch and Sam decide to start a revenge-for-hire business to earn the money within the two-week deadline. Simple enough, right?

The two dunderheads have quite a history in the vengeance business, framing a childhood bully, a perverted crossing guard and the neighborhood Doberman as kids. And, my friend, they don't miss a step in the transition to duping adults. In fact, they ruin businesses and condemn apartment buildings virtually at will. There are also two bizarre hallucination sequences featuring Gary Coleman (?).

Yeah, the story is boringly predictable, but it's loaded with tons of filthy dick and shit jokes – most from so far out in left field that you can't see them coming at all. Most people forget that Macdonald wrote for Roseanne back when it was somewhat cutting edge, and co-writer Fred Wolf worked on the Chris Farley laugh-fests Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. Bob Saget's direction is unassuming while the film is punctuated with tons of hot, overplayed modern rock tracks. But ruin a movie, they do not. Dick and shit jokes trump frat-boy music any day.


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