Release Date: April 11, 2001
Starring: David Spade, Brittany Daniel, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, Kid Rock, Jamie Pressly
Directed by: Dennie Gordon
Written by: David Spade, Fred Wolf
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (crude and sex-related humor; language)
If you're already cringing at the sound of the title, then you'd best stay away from Joe Dirt, because the title pretty much sums up the quality you can expect from this movie. On the other hand, it is produced by Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo (the team who brought you everything from Little Nicky to Happy Gilmore), so maybe, you think, just maybe, I'm being a bit too harsh and they've finally put together an original and worthwhile comedy.
Don't hold your breath.
It's pretty much the same old same-old, right from the get-go. Joe Dirt (David Spade) is the epitome of white trash. As the movie's poster claims, he's a "trailer trash wig wearin', acid wash jean lovin', rock concert t-shirt sportin'" character. He works as a janitor at an Los Angeles radio station whose headline talk show host (Dennis Miller) is (apparently) one of the most popular in the city. Joe happens to clumsily cross paths with one of the show's producers, and suddenly he's sitting on the air with the talk show host. Joe tells him and the city of L.A. his story -- an escapade to find his parents who left abandoned him at the Grand Canyon when he was 8 years old.
The abrupt meeting of Joe and the talk show host is completely rushed and makes for a weak foundation for the rest of the movie. Rather than just having this clumsy, ugly janitor suddenly sitting across from a popular radio star, Dennis Miller's character, who inexplicably takes a great interest in Joe, should have been further developed. The talk show's premise could have at least been described in more detail, and then we could have at least an inkling of respect for the story that is about to unfold.
But it's not, and we don't.
The script, written by David Spade and Fred Wolf (Little Nicky, Dirty Work), is packed with the same old raunchy humor that's become so retread that, rather than laughing, we just sigh in annoyance and wait for it to be over. Honestly, how many times are they going to use the humping-animals bit before people think it's old? Not surprisingly, the "meteor" Joe finds at one point turns out to be a frozen chunk of airplane bathroom waste, and of course he's eaten a meal off of it beforehand. There are plenty more bowel movement jokes and crude sexual gags that are obviously geared towards the immature audience members, even though most of those that are immature enough to laugh shouldn't be mature enough to understand it.
There were a few moments when it actually seemed like the story and the characters were developing, and at some points the movie even turns serious. But then writers Spade and Wolf seemed to suddenly remember they were supposed to be scripting another gross-out comedy, and we're thrown right back into the tasteless humor. The soundtrack may have been the movie's most consistently bearable component, including such artists as Lynard Skynard and the Dave Matthews Band. But this does nothing to tie down the movie's many loose ends.
This is David Spade's first lead role since 1999's Lost & Found, and his humor is some of the best from the early 90's "Saturday Night Live" cast. As Joe Dirt, he is occasionally funny but mostly just a stupid-looking hick you squirm at the mere sight of -- which I suppose was the point. His love interest, Brandy (Brittany Daniel, TV's "Dawson's Creek"), is another one of those beautiful girls who is one of the nicest people on the planet and doesn't care how ugly or disgusting a man is. Ms. Daniel's role, combined with Jamie Pressly's cameo, prove that the beautiful-people trick never fails, because they always capture our attention. The women the Sandler team brought in were great to look at, but I'm sure the men on the set had more fun than us suckers sitting in the theater.
Also, like last year's Little Nicky, Joe Dirt has its share of cameo appearances. Christopher Walken is the biggest surprise, although someone should check what mental illness he's suffering from, as no right-minded actor like him would have taken this part. Rock singer Kid Rock fit the trailer trash scenery, but seems to act as well as he sings -- that is, he wouldn't have been able to do it without cue cards. And Dennis Miller didn't even have to act, because the role fits the Monday Night Football announcer's persona to the tee.
The movie's ending completes the wretched experience. It's pretty sad when the grand finale of a film is the groundbreaking revelation of ... the hero's new hairstyle. By that point, though, I was asking Spade to just shoot me, because Joe Dirt is another videotape on the burn pile of bad, unoriginal comedies.
all contents © 2001 Andy Zientek