Brittany Daniel in Joe Dirt (2001)
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Review
So I got ready to watch yet another SNL-refugee movie and guess what happened? I laughed. Yes, Joe Dirt is definitely on the low end of the cinematic food chain but heck. If a movie makes me laugh at least 6 times, I can't be too hard on it. (If you dislike David Spade, avoid this movie like 5 plagues.)
As I've stated before, I'm not highbrow. I can get behind a good poop joke with the most hyperactive 14-year-olds out there. Fart noises can leave me with tears streaming down my cheeks, I often find myself embarrassed by the things that make me laugh. Now, before you dismiss me as a juvenile imbecile, please understand that I absolutely loathed The Animal and Freddy Got Fingered, so I'm not entirely insane… nothing $50,000.00 worth of therapy wouldn’t fix.
I told you all that so I could tell you this:
Joe Dirt ain't half-bad. While it will most assuredly please the fans of David Spade (Saturday Night Live, Lost and Found), don't be surprised if those unfamiliar with Spade's shtick find a little low-rent comedy worth seeing.
Among the recent SNL flicks, Joe Dirt actually ranks pretty high. Yes, it's moronic and borderline insipid but solid laughs go a long way. OK, "solid laughs" might be a little extreme but I had a pretty good time. Hey, I was stunned by the realization as well!
The plot is a typical farce framework you've seen a dozen times before: Underdog hero navigates the country and meeting up with a host of goofy characters before becoming a folk hero. If you look a bit closely, Joe Dirt intermittently comes off as a subtle satire of Forrest Gump. (Yes, I used the word 'subtle' to describe a David Spade movie. Weird, eh?)
Scatological humor is rather subjective, so I wouldn't be shocked if the average moviegoer dismissed Joe Dirt entirely. Perhaps this news sheds a bit too much light on my deranged psyche but I laughed at most of the doody jokes. Straying a bit from his patented 'smarmy jerk' routine, Spade actually manages to create a character! Nobody's about to mistake Spade for the next Edward Norton but give a little credit where it's due.
Sprinkled throughout Dirt's bizarre travels are a colorful collection of white-trash characters. As Joe searches the country for his estranged parents (who abandoned him in a Grand Canyon garbage can when he was a young boy), he meets up with a clueless fireworks salesman, a trailer-park harlot who may or may not be his sister, a creepy school janitor and an acerbic radio show host. Every time the film drags to a sloppy delay, a new face pops up and the resulting antics are generally entertaining.
(My favorite sequence involves Joe and a massive septic tank strapped to his back. As the feces cover his whole head, Joe is heard muttering "Oh...help me...how much doody is in there?" I had tears streaming down my face, Lord help me.)
Spade is fairly amusing throughout but he's far from the whole show. Michael Beach (Smoke Signals) gains a few smiles as the near-sighted Indian, Christopher Walken (The Suicide Kings) is a non-stop trip as the mysterious janitor and the luminous Jaime Pressley (Ringmaster) is nothing short of delightful. Dennis Miller (Murder at 1600) adds some welcome nastiness as the sarcastic radio host and newcomer Brittany Daniel (The Basketball Diaries) is simply wonderful to look at. Also keep an eye peeled for a mixed bag of oddball cameo appearances, including Hamilton Camp, Rosanna Arquette, Kid Rock, Kevin Nealon and Joe Don Baker. (And yes, that's Erik Per Sullivan - Dewey from Malcolm in the Middle - as the young Joe Dirt.)
Oh well, I liked an entirely crappy movie. Sue me. The direction can best be described as "tripod-like" and the movie isn't likely to be remembered come Oscar time...but if you find yourself laughing at your own flatulence from time to time, you might find Joe Dirt to be a lot more entertaining than it looks.
With a fantastic 70's soundtrack, a quick pace and a surprisingly evident "soft side", Joe Dirt is a heck of a lot better than might be expected. (Well, given the trailers, that's certainly no mean feat.) Bottom Line: If Joe Dirt is the kind of comedy you like to rent...you'll get your money's worth. It’s certainly more entertaining than anything starring that awful Rob Schneider.
Nudity Report: No outright skin to speak of, though Ms. Daniel and Ms. Pressly offer enough PG-13 cleavage shots to please any horny 14-year-old out there.
IMDB Summary: 2,244 IMDb users rate this one at 5.2/10.
Box Office: Grossed just over $27 million against a budget of about $16 million.
DVD Info: Widescreen Anamorphic (or Full Frame) format, audio commentary by David Spade, audio commentary by director Dennie Gordon, production notes, theatrical trailers, deleted scenes, outtakes & bloopers.
Written by: Scott Weinberg