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DIRTY WORK: What they said ...
" ... a stupid lowdown vulgar comedy. ... [Don] Ohlmeyer was right."
-- Bob Graham, The San Francisco Chronicle
" ... it's the cinematic equivalent of rolling in a pile of steaming excrement."
-- Kevin Maynard, Mr. Showbiz
"There isn't a single glimmer of intelligence ... It's a must-miss movie."
-- Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe
"The alleged comic's delivery is the verbal equivalent of Sominex."
-- Larry Worth, The New York Post
" ... the only thing roused by "Dirty Work" ... is the suspicion that sleeping pills have been
administered to most of the cast ..."
-- Lawrence Van Gelder, The New York Times
" ... Macdonald can't carry the film ..."
-- E! Online
"[Macdonald is] a Not Ready For Movietime Player."
-- Peter Howel, The Toronto Star
" ... the best way to get revenge on someone ... is to force them to sit through this movie ... "
-- David Kronke, The Los Angeles Times
" ... an embarrassingly bland comic failure."
-- Matt Williams, Cinematter
" ... to my fellow critics: Guys, lay
off, relax, and let the public laugh ... "
-- Gregory Bloom, The Williamsport Evening Star
" ... galaxy of failed comic stars!"
-- Melanie McFarland, The Seattle Times
" ... a masterpiece of understated preposterousness."
-- Dorothy Nixon, Critics Inc.
" ... a shameless and sporadically hilarious comedy ... "
-- Joe Leydon, Variety
" ... juvenile and ... delinquent of comedy."
-- Bob Thompson, The Toronto Sun
" ... a monumentally unfunny film ... "
-- Tyler McLeod, The Calgary Sun
" ... one of the better movies featuring SNL alumni ... "
-- Mark Bazer, The Boston Phoenix
" ... hilarious, thanks to Macdonald's talent for unblinking comic delivery ... "
-- John Krewson, The Onion
" ... amazingly funny, filled to the
brim with jokes ... "
-- Nathaniel R. Atcheson, Film Psychosis
" ... children wallowing in their own filth ... "
-- Bjorn Thomson, Savoy Magazine
" ... a hit-and-miss melange of genius and juvenilia."
-- Christine James, Boxoffice Online
" ... the kind of 'who cares?' goofiness you almost have to admire."
-- Chris Vognar, The Dallas Morning News
It's a 'Dirty' little shame about Norm Macdonald
[ RATING: Snoozing viewer ]
The Norm Macdonald movie "Dirty Work," whichd yesterday,
is a stupid lowdown vulgar comedy. I can't really recommend it
except to people who like stupid lowdown vulgar comedy.
I had a few good laughs.
Macdonald was until recently the smarmy anchor of the "Saturday
Night Live" segment "Weekend Update." In that role, he made
outrageously snide remarks about people in the news and was often
very funny, if only for shock value.
In "Dirty Work," he tries to be slightly more sympathetic, as an
ordinary Joe who makes snide remarks with an air of mock
innocence.
Macdonald was in the news recently as a result of his feud with
Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC's West Coast division and O.J.
Simpson pal, who had the comic fired from the "Weekend Update"
slot.
After "Dirty Work," it is tempting to say Ohlmeyer was right,
but that would be a cheap shot.
Ohlmeyer was right.
The premise of the movie is that Macdonald and buddy Artie Lange
("MAD TV") are a couple of losers who hit upon a get-rich
scheme. They will go into business pulling dirty tricks for angry
people who want revenge on others.
Not a bad idea. People in the grip of revenge lust are often
ridiculous, but little is made of the revenge seekers here.
Instead, all we get is a series of dirty tricks, only one of them
funny. There are unbilled bits by Adam Sandler and, most
interesting, Chris Farley, as an angry guy whose nose was bitten
off by "a Saigon whore." Oddest of all, John Goodman has a cameo
in which he simply makes an appearance and does absolutely nothing
whatsoever. Thanks for showing up, John. "Dirty Work" was
directed by Bob Saget, who always seemed slightly embarrassed by
his enormous success as the host of "America's Funniest Home
Videos."
Now he's got something else to be slightly embarrassed about. -- Bob Graham
[ RATING: 4 (out of 100) ]
Dirty Work is pretty dirty all right; in fact it's the cinematic equivalent of rolling in a pile
of steaming excrement. Ostensibly a vehicle for former Saturday Night Live cast member
Norm Macdonald, this idiotic, mean-spirited piece of cynicism should die a quick death at a
theater near you. Flatly directed by Bob Saget -- yup, the acting talent from Full House
and America's Funniest Home Videos -- the film is basically a series of cheap jokes at the
expense of fat people and homosexuals.
The movie stems from a not-so-bad premise: two losers
decide to get back at the system by starting a revenge-for-
hire business. But as contrived in the witless script, co-
written by Macdonald and two other hot talents (why does
it always take this many scribes to make a film this
lousy?), there's nothing remotely plausible or comically
ingenious about their schemes. At one point, they help a
circus midget who's being picked on by a bearded lady (supermodel Rebecca Romijin) by
shaving her beard off! Har-dee-har!
Our lovable heroes, Mitch Weaver (Macdonald) and his fat pal Sam (Artie Lange), live by
the mantra "Don't take no crap from anybody." Destitute, jobless, and well into their 30s,
that seems to be all they're good for. But when the guys realize they need to raise 50 grand
to pay for Sam's dad (Jack Warden) to have surgery, they get a new lease on life and set
up shop. Their first client, a cold-hearted real-estate mogul (Christopher McDonald, who
has played oily yuppie bastards too many times), wants them to vandalize an apartment
building. Trouble is, the guys don't realize that it's the home of Mitch's girlfriend's
(Traylor Howard) sweet old granny. Oops. Will the boys save the day? You know the
suspense is killing you.
When not cramming in excuses for unfunny star cameos, including Chevy Chase, Don
Rickles, John Goodman, Chris Farley, and Gary Coleman -- who must really need the
work -- as an apparition of hell, Dirty Work makes fun of Lange's tremendous girth and
throws in lots of bad gay jokes. (My favorite is when Sam hugs Mitch, who replies, "Keep
your distance, Liberace." Rapier wit.) Macdonald is a terrible actor; he delivers all his lines
as though he were reading "Weekend Update" cue cards. As the obligatory babe, Howard
(Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place) is perky and a dead ringer for Sandy Duncan but
when her character says, "I can't believe I'm doing this. I don't know why I'm here,"
you're tempted to yell "Big paycheck!" It's hard to believe veteran character actor Jack
Warden, currently cracking much wiser in Bulworth, decided to go slumming in this
putrid mess. Dirty Work gets four points out of 100 for having the mild comic inspiration
to stage a bar room brawl to the tune of "The Pina Colada Song." If that's enough of an
incentive for you, you probably never shower. -- Kevin Maynard
Kevin Maynard is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the Village Voice, Out,
Time Out New York, Interview, New York Post, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour. He's also a
contributor to Leonard Maltin's 1997 and 1998 Movie and Video Guide. If asked to pick his
favorite movie, he'd be hard-pressed to pick between The Last Picture Show and the video of
his bar mitzvah.
Macdonald's 'Dirty' is a rotten shame
Norm Macdonald, formerly of "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live," makes his
movie-starring debut in "Dirty Work," a comedy about a goat who becomes a hero when he his own business doing other people's dirty work, and taking revenge on all the bullies of
the world. Bob Saget, late of "America's Funniest Home Videos," directs, and "Dirty Work"
comes in on a par with the worst of those home videos - only much, much longer.
Macdonald, whose humor has always been crude and withering, meets the low expectations his
"Update" anchorman set in "Dirty Work," which is essentially a seemingly endless string of
lame sex jokes. The movie received more attention than it deserves when NBC honcho Don
Ohlmeyer, who apparently doesn't like Macdonald, yanked "Dirty Work" ads off his airwaves.
They were reinstated earlier this week.
Macdonald, as Mitch, never wipes the smirk off his face. Artie Lange puts in a noble effort as
Mitch's best (and only) friend, Sam, and suffers innumerable jokes about his heft. Jack Warden
plays Sam's father, a dirty old man who is both forever horny and impotent. He has a heart
attack, and the boystheir revenge business to raise money for a heart transplant.
Along the way, Mitch meets his love interest (Traylor Howard), but the idea that any woman
would choose to spend two minutes with a guy who never outgrew the sixth grade is even more
implausible than some of the practical jokes the "Dirty Works" boys play on the bad guys - like
pouring popcorn into the engine of a steamroller.
Original "Update" anchorman Chevy Chase plays a hapless doctor. The late Chris Farley, at his
most obnoxious, puts in a recurring cameo as a drunk missing the tip of his nose. Don't blink
and you'll see Adam Sandler, as well. Don Rickles, as one of Macdonald's many targets, does
his usual pathetic schtick as the meanest guy on the face of the earth. There isn't a single glimmer
of intelligence in "Dirty Work." It's a must-miss movie. -- Cate McQuaid
'Dirty Work': Where clunky comedy is the Norm
[ RATING: One Star ]
If "Dirty Work" is any indication, NBC honcho Don Ohlmeyer was right. Norm
Macdonald isn't funny.
Supposedly, that was the reason Ohlmeyer kicked the "Saturday Night Live"
comic from the show's anchor desk last January. Smart move.
Since then, the pair's feud escalated as Ohlmeyer tried to get commercials for
"Dirty Work" banned from NBC. Regardless of motivations, the act seems
downright heroic - at least after seeing the finished product.
The story, which Macdonald co-wrote, portrays a sad sack (Macdonald) who's
been fired from 14 jobs in three months. On the day of his latest dismissal,
he's thrown out of his girlfriend's apartment, then insulted beyond belief by
a moviehouse manager.
Taking revenge on all his tormentors proves pretty easy, which makes the guy
realize his real talent: He'll offer his services to helpless Davids seeking
to humiliate their Goliaths.
That much would be fine, at least if some semblance of humor manifested itself
along the way. Those holding their breath for punch lines had better look good
in blue.
But Macdonald isn't the only one to blame. It's fair to say that director Bob
Saget brings the same level of wit and sophistication to the film that he
brought to hosting duties on "America's Funniest Home Videos."
Here, Saget can't even find a consistent tone, varying between all-out
slapstick and attempts at dark comedy. Then again, it's hard to milk yuks out
of murder, prison rape, bestiality, incest, homelessness and guns in school.
Nor can Saget alter Macdonald's line readings, which carry a range of A to B.
The alleged comic's delivery is the verbal equivalent of Sominex.
The supporting cast offers no relief, underlining the downward spiral of Chevy
Chase, Christopher McDonald and Don Rickles. Their sad antics are interspersed
with pointless cameos from Adam Sandler, John Goodman and Gary ("Diff'rent
Strokes") Coleman. And that's not even mentioning the late Chris Farley's
final demonstration of his comic lackings.
Most pathetic of all, though, is witnessing the great Jack Warden's decline.
Just when thinking that it couldn't get any worse for him than playing Carrot
Top's foil in "Chairman of the Board," he has to walk around as Macdonald's
sex-crazed mentor, talking about "hooter heaven." If this is the best he's
being offered, retirement seems a viable option.
Actually, retirement seems a fit fate for Macdonald and Saget, too. Maybe
Ohlmeyer can give that concept some thought. -- Larry Worth
'Dirty Work' is nothing but trash
[ RATING: Turkey ]
If you thought the Asian economy was bad, try assessing the state
of film comedy on the basis of "Dirty Work." Phrases like "terminally
stupid" and "brain dead" leap readily to mind.
About an hour into this leaden, taste-deprived attempted comedy
about a couple of losers whose contribution to American capitalism is
a revenge-for-hire business, a surprise arrives in the form of a funny
joke about the circumstances surrounding a photograph in an old
man's locket. The joke is crude, but almost everything is in this
lifeless comedy. Still, it is a joke.
About the only thing roused by "Dirty Work," directed by Bob
Saget, a former host of "America's Funniest Home Videos," is the
suspicion that sleeping pills have been administered to most of the
cast, which includes Chevy Chase as a doctor in thrall to gamblers and
Don Rickles as a nasty theater manager.
Others responsible for the low comic wattage of "Dirty Work"
include Norm Macdonald, a "Saturday Night Live" alumnus who was
a co-writer of the script and shares with Artie Lange the onerous
burden of having to act in it.
Macdonald and Lange star as Mitch and Sam. Friends since
childhood, they have reached their 30s without distinction. Mitch has lost 14 jobs in three months; Sam lives with his father, Pops
(Jack Warden), a belligerent, impotent old man who spends most of his time shouting for whores.
After a tiresome long buildup, the plot finally lurches into motion when Pops has a heart attack. Dr. Farthing (Chase) says that
he needs a heart transplant but is too old to qualify as a priority case. But Dr. Farthing is a compulsive gambler whose creditors
are in the process of breaking his arms and shooting off his toes.
So he suggests to Mitch and Sam that $50,000 might help matters, which prompts them to resurrect one of their childhood
successes: creative revenge in the form of a business called Dirty Work, which consists of projects like removing the beard from
an abusive bearded lady in a circus, planting dead fish in a lavish but loud home and loosing skunks into the audience at a
performance of "Don Giovanni."
Far too often in "Dirty Work," the supposedly funny business happens offscreen.
P.S. Don't bother to hang around for the outtakes. They're not funny either. -- Lawrence Van Gelder
[ RATING: C+ ]
In this sophomoric giggler, Macdonald takes a stab at film comedy
after his ouster from Saturday Night Live. He plays a two-bit
loser who gets entrepreneurial, starting his own business as a
"revenge technician," getting even with his clients' enemies. The
plot, featuring an elusive love interest, a manipulative rich
bastard and a Viagra-challenged old coot, plays a lot like Dumb
and Dumber, though it sorely lacks a solid talent like Jim Carrey.
Macdonald can't carry the film, but fellow SNL alums Chase and
Farley, along with Warden, do enough of Macdonald's dirty work to
make this scatological goo mildly amusing.
No wonder Macdonald's out of work
[ RATING: One star ]
Note to self: Never try to make a comedy movie in which you repeatedly make wisecracking notes to yourself on a microcassette recorder.
It just isn't funny, especially when you keep doing it over and over again. Ditto for gags about prostitutes and scenes where you're thrown through the air by thugs.
The use of overkill is a particular affliction of weaker American comics - I blame it on David Letterman - and it has now found a Canadian victim: Norm Macdonald, late of Saturday Night Live.
Dirty Work is his movie debut, released after he was cut by SNL by an NBC exec who felt he wasn't funny.
Back in January, the axing seem cruel and wrong-headed. Macdonald was the funniest guy on SNL (which isn't saying much).
But Dirty Work, a high-concept vehicle about a revenge-for-hire duo, makes the NBC suit look like the only person in Macdonald's circle who knows what's funny and what isn't.
And it's some circle. Macdonald and director Bob Saget (America's Funniest Home Videos) called in markers from comedians then and now, including SNLers Adam Sandler and Chris Farley (making possibly his first post-mortem appearance), John Goodman, Gary Coleman, Don Rickles and Chevy Chase.
For additional Canadian content, there's boxer George Chuvalo and TV personalities Dini Petty, Gord Martineau and Mike Anscombe.
They all do cameos in the story of a scheming thirtysomething guy named Mitch (Macdonald), who teams with his best friend Sam (Artie Lange of Mad TV) to make money by exacting revenge on people. They set up shop as score settlers for hire.
There's no axe too small to grind for these boys, whether it's putting popcorn in someone's car engine or vandalizing an entire apartment building.
Hey, it's all for a good cause: Mitch and Sam need to raise $50,000 pronto to pay for the heart transplant operation of Sam's cantankerous dad (Jack Warden).
In better hands, the movie might have worked. But Macdonald seems uncomfortable in the lead role as he tries to put an ironic spin on everything he says and does. He's a Not Ready For Movietime Player.
If only the NBC suit had been called in to vet the script and demand some honest laughs. But Rickles makes a good stand-in. At the very end, as outtakes from the movie run beneath the credits, he says to Macdonald, ``How you got this movie, I don't know.''
My point exactly. -- Peter Howel
Macdonald's 'Dirty Work' needs a laugh transplant
There's something vaguely subversive about comedian Norm Macdonald's
insistence on depersonalizing everything and everyone. In his new movie "Dirty
Work," he impersonally greets other characters with flat, under-descriptive
monikers ("Hey, homeless guys"; "OK, building tenants"; "hey, fat lady").
He even regards himself in this reductive fashion, both in his sheer refusal to "act" and in
the blithe way his character is routinely brutalized (he's the victim of an off-screen prison
gang rape that's played--with shocking improbability and even more shocking success--for
laughs). It's as if he's telling the audience that even trying with material like this would just
be unhip.
"Dirty Work" centers on a revenge-for-hire business in which everyone, even the kindly
grandmother of the pert love interest, is fair game for retribution or humiliation. It's a
comedy driven not by character but rather by the utter lack of it.
"Dirty Work" clocks in at a flyweight 81 minutes, leaving the audience to consider the
mountains of worse stuff left in the editing bay's trash can, and is a tone-deaf, scattershot
and dispiritingly cheesy affair with more groans than laughs. Certainly Macdonald, a former
"Saturday Night Live" regular, does uncork a few solid one-liners, so there are more real
laughs here than in, say, the glossier and even more predictable "Six Days, Seven Nights."
What thoroughly, irrevocably kills "Dirty Work" is its production-value-free,
direct-to-video-quality tinniness.
Bob Saget, he of the soft stand-up routines, the lame sitcom and the wacky home videos,
directs like he acts, with an eye decidedly on the obvious. More dismayingly, his performers
act like Saget acts as well.
With the exception of Jack Warden and the late Chris Farley, who put way too much
oomph into their small, thankless roles of old and young leches, respectively, no one in the
cast ratchets his or her performance above the level of a listless shrug. Perhaps this is to
divert attention from Macdonald's inability to put an ounce of conviction into his
performance (which, in a roundabout way, is amusing in and of itself), but it doesn't help
the movie much.
The plot is negligible. Macdonald is Mitch and Artie Lange plays Sam, two losers who
couldn't hold a job if it were stuck to their fingers with Krazy Glue. Their only talent is
indulging in schoolboy-style pranks, so when Sam's dad (Warden) falls ill, they decide to
raise money for a heart transplant byng a business in which they play pranks for
bucks.
Their gags are largely uninspired, of the cherry-bomb-in-the-toilet variety. They
encounter the usual pitfalls and pratfalls before the perfunctory happy ending, at which point
Macdonald dismisses the audience with a desultory, "That's it."
"Dirty Work" got a little free publicity recently when NBC West Coast President Don
Ohlmeyer got into a petty feud with Macdonald and initially refused to run spots for the film
on his network (the edict was later partially rescinded). Now, we realize that Ohlmeyer was
just doing his part in protecting America from a crummy movie. In the end, the best way to
get revenge on someone who irks you is to force them to sit through this movie. -- David Kronke
[ RATING: 1/2 ticket (out of four) ]
Like so many other former Saturday Night Live-ers before him, Norm Macdonald attempts to make the jump to feature
films...and falls flat on his face. Dirty Work is an embarrassingly bland comic failure.
Macdonald stars as Mitch Weaver, a pathetic loser who can't hold a steady job or even a girlfriend. He has only one
good friend, Sam (Artie Lange), whose father (Jack Warden) is in desperate need of a $50,000 heart transplant...
money that neither Sam nor Mitch have.
All looks bleak until Mitch discovers a way to make money from his one true talent: creating elaborate revenge
schemes. He and Sam start up Dirty Work, a revenge-for-hire business. They help people to get even...from little old
ladies to billionaire Travis Cole (Christopher McDonald). But will they be able to make enough money in time? And
will anyone stay in the theater long enough to find out?
The film boasts a wide variety of cameos. Chevy Chase, Don Rickles, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, John Goodman,
and even Gary Coleman all appear at one time or another. But aside from simple shock value, they have very little to
add.
Norm Macdonald doesn't have much of a repertoire here. His one smug tone might make him a good straight
man...but it doesn't work well when he's supposed to be the comic center of the film. The film simply hops from one
oddly bland revenge gag to another with little humor in between.
There are slight glimmers here and there of moments of humor trying to break free in the film's darker moments.
When Dirty Work unknowingly pulls a revenge prank on a bunch of murderous drug lords, for example, the movie
skates eerily close to humor. Alas, what could have been a quirky dark comedy quickly collapses back into the dull,
stale routine.
There may be a good film lurking in the heart of Norm Macdonald...but Dirty Work shows that it's buried deep. -- Matt Williams
[ RATING: 3 1/2 popcorn kernals (out of four) ]
Norm MacDonald's first starring role as Mitch in MGM's first summer
flick, "Dirty Work," leaves audiences wondering why so many critics hate
it.
MacDonald's Mitch is an average guy with an average friend who can't
seem to catch a break in his 30-plus year life. Under the sincere
premise of "Don't take crap from nobody" Mitch and best friend Sam set
out to gain back some lost pride.
The twoa revenge-for-hire business to gather some quick cash to
pay off a compulsive gambling doc played by Chevy Chase. The pair soon
finds out that they're actually brothers.
But, within 3 minutes of this 81-minute film, audiences realize why
they came -- not for the plot and moving story line, but for MacDonald's
brash, deadpan, and yes, fellow critics, even crude humor. But
MacDonald is an equal opportunity funny guy. Homosexuality, obesity,
even jailhouse rape are all fair game for him to poke fun at.
It's clear why Norm didn't let the press preview the movie. It wasn't
written for critics searching for the next Oscar contender. It was
written for the hordes of fans, and kids in all of us, that laugh almost
out of our seats to cracks about, well, crack, crack whores, a hand-held
dog, inflatable sex toys, countless 'notes-to-self,' and an army of
prostitutes.
Sound crude? You bet.
Funny? You better believe it.
So, on a last note, I'd like to say to my fellow critics: Guys, lay
off, relax, and let the public laugh while we can.
-- Gregory Bloom
MacDonald and 'Dirty Work' don't work
Note to Norm Macdonald: Stop trying to extend your 15 minutes by loudly slamming
NBC execs for your "Saturday Night Live" firing. Face it, you were booted because
you're not funny anymore, and your new movie "Dirty Work" makes that loud and
clear.
Granted, this disaster isn't entirely your fault; "Dirty Work" is directed by another
talent-free comedian, ousted "America's Funniest Home Videos" host Bob Saget.
Frankly, you should have known better.
Your strengths aren't in the writing field, either, Norm. It says you penned this
debacle with the help of Frank Sebastiano and Fred Wolf, but the dialogue is so
insipid, the jokes so sophomoric, one gets the feeling Saget called in a favor to the
Olsen twins on a day the pair were feeling particularly naughty.
And learn how to act! We know your deadpan routine made you famous, but this
movie shows your shtick to be less invention than necessity. It's painful to watch you
play Mitch, a character who, like you, is scraping bottom.
If only the film had stuck with the child version of Mitch (Bradley Reid) and his best
buddy Sam (Joseph Sicilia), who compensated for their wimpiness by using their
brains to get even with bullies; the kids couldn't act, either, but at least their nontalent
was cute.
Fast-forward to the adult Mitch, still a loser. When Sam's (Artie Lange) dad, Pops
(Jack Warden), has a heart attack, the pals learn he needs a transplant. Fortunately,
Pops' crooked cardiologist (Chevy Chase) is in deep with a bookie. He tells the boys
he'll get Pops a new heart if they can come up with $50,000 in two weeks. Oh, and
Pops tells Mitch he's also his father, providing a sordid locket photo of Mitch's
conception as proof!
Anyway, the boys form a lucrative revenge business, doing a depilatory job on a
bearded lady (Rebecca Romijn), arranging for prostitutes to play dead in the trunks of
used cars to embarrass an evil salesman, and making jokes that bank on audiences
laughing at the words "hooker" and "whore." When a rotten businessman
(Christopher McDonald) tries to beat the pranksters-for-hire at their own game, they
bring out the big guns: skunks, the late Chris Farley, experimental brownies and a
huge horde of - what else? - hookers.
Norm, don't you know that prostitution is the last sign of desperation? The only thing
more shameful in this film is Gary Coleman's self-debasement as a figment of a
hallucination - rounding out this galaxy of failed comic stars!
There's only so many times we can laugh at watching you fly out of buildings on
your face, getting yourself tossed into Dumpsters, or recording one of those endlessly
annoying notes to yourself. That's fine if you're featured in a five-minute skit on a
weekly show. You ruined that gig, Norm, and by inflicting "Dirty Work" on us, you
only make us wish you'd go away all the more quickly. -- Melanie McFarland
[ RATING: 3 stars (out of four) ]
Ever wonder what that nice young man, Bob Saget, he of the impish grin and
droll deadpan delivery, would do given a chance to direct a major motion
picture featuring "dead" prostitutes, implied sodomy, interspecies copulation
and other such puerile inanity? Ever wonder what that naughty young man Norm
Macdonald, he of the impish grin and droll deadpan delivery, would do if given
a full length feature in which to showcase his unflappable twinkly-eyed
comedic talent?
They'd both do well, that's what! "Dirty Work," an impudent poker-faced comedy
directed by former "Funniest Home Videos" MC Bob Saget and starring "Saturday
Night Live" outcast Norm McDonald (who also co-wrote ) proves it. Am I
surprised? Well, not entirely. How can Saget not appreciate Macdonald's
mischievous minimalist style? These two were probably separated at birth.
"Dirty Work" is a masterpiece of understated preposterousness. In scene after
scene in this tongue-in-cheek film, just as we think we're in for some
standard cinematic brainlessness, Saget's wry laid-back direction -- and
Macdonald's hilariously self-conscious one-note acting technique -- take us to
some weird and unexpected place.
When the jokes are good, they are tear-inducing funny. But even when they are
not particular clever, they generate chuckles anyway in a why-am-I laughing-
so-hard-this-is-sooo-stupid kind of way. That's because the joke in this movie
is on the material; and silly, crude, often oafish material it is.
Macdonald plays a loser who sets up a revenge-for-hire business because that's
the only thing he's good at: unhurried hijinks ensue involving things like
fish, popcorn, prostitutes, homeless people and skunks at the opera.
Happily, both Saget and Macdonald deal with the deliberately simple-minded,
yet surprisingly tidy script, in an ironic, even subversive way. Both director
and actor believe less is better-and in this age of slapstick overkill that's
refreshing.
Artie Lange as Macdonald's partner in crime, Jack Warden as a horny
curmudgeon, Don Rickles as a sour-faced fascist of a theater manager, and
Chris Farley as a maniacal bar acquaintance lend some energy to the
proceedings. Chevy Chase (Macdonald's forerunner on "SNL") is actually funny
again as a heart surgeon who'll bet on anything, even his patients' odds for
survival. -- Dorothy Nixon
Highly reminiscent of "Kingpin" in its willingness to
try anything for a laugh, "Dirty Work" is a shameless
and sporadically hilarious comedy about two
thirtysomething underachievers who start a revenge
for hire business. Pic lacks sufficient pizzazz and
marquee power to be anything more than a midrange
B.O. performer, and likely will get lost in the summer
shuffle. But if it connects with a large enough segment
of its target audience, under 25 males, word of mouth
could generate decent ancillary biz down the line.
Norm Macdonald, the recently jettisoned "Weekend
Update" anchor of "Saturday Night Live," plays his first
bigscreen lead as Mitch Weaver, a chronically
unemployable smart aleck. Early scenes show how the
character (played as a youngster by Bradley Reid and
Matthew Steinberg) developed his personal credo, "Don't
take any crap from anybody." When a bully tries to steal
his milk money, young Mitch slips real guns into his
tormentor's desk, leading to the bad boy's arrest. A
crossing guard who grabs the backsides of children gets an
equally imaginative comeuppance.
As an adult, Mitch is much more successful at plotting
revenge than finding gainful employment. Along with his
longtime buddy Sam McKenna ("Mad TV" vet Artie
Lange), he devises an especially ingenious plan to pay back
rowdy frat house guys who get the best of them in a
barroom brawl. But when Sam's father (Jack Warden)
needs $50,000 for a heart transplant, the two friends decide
it's time to mix business with pleasure.
After earning small change for pulling a nasty trick on a
tyrannical movie-house manager (Don Rickles), Mitch and
SamDirty Work Inc., a business dedicated to
providing revenge at reasonable rates. A typical stunt:
They embarrass a cranky auto dealer during a live TV
commercial by hiring prostitutes to pose as corpses in the
trunks of showcased cars.
Mitch and Sam are temporarily outwitted by Travis Cole
(Christopher McDonald), a millionaire real estate developer
who's greatly upset when Dirty Work Inc. sabotages his
plans to raze a sweet old lady's home. Cole hires the
tricksters to trash an apartment building so he can have it
condemned and torn down. The problem is, Cole doesn't
own the building. It turns out that the grandmother of
Mitch's sweetie, Kathy (Traylor Howard), is one of the
building's tenants. Of course, this means war.
Macdonald, who co wrote the uneven screenplay with
Frank Sebastiano and Fred Wolf, doesn't exactly stretch
himself here. Indeed, his performance is a slightly more
engaging variation of his "Weekend Update" shtick.
Despite his occasional stiffness, however, Macdonald
demonstrates an effective deadpan insouciance, along with a
welcome willingness to make himself the butt of many
jokes. As his partner in crime, Lange is amusing but
generally overshadowed.
"Dirty Work" doesn't get the most out of its promising
premise, the outrageousness isn't consistently sustained,
and the pic tends to peter out somewhere around the two
thirds mark. Lackadaisical direction by first-time helmer
Bob Saget doesn't help much. Far too often, actors begin
scenes with obvious tentativeness, as though they're not
entirely sure they heard someone yell "Action!"
On the plus side, a few moments of throwaway lunacy are
positively inspired, and Macdonald's wisecracks punch up
many of the dead spots. Chevy Chase has a brief but slyly
amusing bit as a surgeon whose compulsive gambling leads
him to strike the deal for the $50,000 heart transplant. And
Warden is robustly lascivious as a dirty old man who, all
things considered, would probably rather spend the
$50,000 on Viagra.
The late Chris Farley, one of several unbilled cameo
players, plays a bellowing barfly who claims the tip of his
nose was bitten off by a prostitute. Much funnier,
however, is a slightly surreal appearance by former child
star Gary Coleman.
Tech values are average. On a couple of occasions, it's
obvious that some dialogue was dubbed over during post
production, perhaps to avoid a more restrictive MPAA
rating. -- Joe Leydon
MacDonald's Dirty Work is merely mediocre
It's Dirty Work, and apparently Norm Macdonald has to do it.
He co-wrote the comedy and stars in it. So maybe he had no
choice.
Y'know, Norm Macdonald, the former Ottawa funnyman who
went from Toronto standup to writing for Roseanne's TV show.
Okay, there is more.
In fact, the trouble with Norm Macdonald is his back story,
which is starting to be funnier than his comedy.
Certainly, his controversial past, and probably future, is more
memorable than anything he does in this Bob Saget series of skits
about two revenge pranksters who do freelance pranks for a
living, while trying to help their sick dad.
In Dirty Work, Macdonald carries baggage. He's not just the
droll but caustic Norm Macdonald, he's the droll but caustic
comic fired or retired from Saturday Night Live's Weekend
Update gig.
Remember? He was fired or retired by NBC's west coast
president Don Ohlmeyer, another Canadian guy who made good
south of the border.
Gee, you'd think they would both say, "Sorry, eh," and get the
fuss over with. But no.
Both Ohlmeyer and Macdonald have made sure of this. We must
always think of them, now, as the anti-comedy couple, since
Ohlmeyer doesn't think Macdonald's funny and Macdonald
thinks Ohlmeyer is a laugh.
Not that I'm siding with Ohlmeyer, but wait until Ohlmeyer sees
Dirty Work.
It's not bad exactly. It's just average in a mediocre kind of
humor way.
It's like Saget's unfunniest home vidoes, starring Macdonald,
who can't act but sure can drone. Artie Lange, who plays his
partner, can sort of act but isn't sort of funny.
Another former Weekend Update guy, Chevy Chase, portrays a
gambling-addicted heart surgeon. How's he doing? Be thankful
he's Chevy Chase and you aren't.
However, solid citizen Jack Warden is on hand to provide some
credibility as the needy heart dad. And Christopher McDonald
does all right, dusting off his smarmy sleaze persona as a rich
real estate doofus.
To say that Don Rickles makes a cameo appearance as a yappy
theatre manager is to tell you the low level of Dirty Work humor.
The dearly departed Chris Farley shows up, too, but pointlessly.
Indeed, this could be National Lampoon's Dirty Work, the bits
are that juvenile and that delinquent of comedy.
But it's not. This is Norm Macdonald's Dirty Work, which is to
say that Ohlmeyer today should be circulating, "I told you so"
e-mails to all those comedy clowns who really care. -- Bob Thompson
Dirty Work doesn't work
In Dirty Work, Norm Macdonald and Artie Langea
revenge-for-hire business and torment their clients' enemies.
The question is: What did we do to Macdonald and Lange to
deserve Dirty Work?
For the victims are not those who give the lead characters money
to extract revenge.
Nor the smarmy, ruthless businessman who is the film
antagonist.
Alas, the victims who should be seeking retribution here are, in
fact, the audience which gives $8 each to Macdonald and Lange.
Dirty Work, now playing, is a monumentally unfunny film that
will alienate even the most devout Macdonald fan. (And certainly
won't overwhelm any Chevy Chase or Don Rickles fans, if such
people exist.)
It isn't as though the humor is just unusual or offbeat. There
simply are no jokes.
Chase as a gamblaholic doctor is good for a few laughs.
There's Chris Farley as an eccentric neighborhood lowlife.
Good for a chuckle.
And there's Adam Sandler as Satan.
Huh? quoth a viewer, too many times.
Most of the humor is like one of those bad Sandler sketches.
The antics are petty, juvenile and tasteless to be sure, which can
have entertaining results as in Happy Gilmore or Dumb and
Dumber.
But Dirty Work's script simply contains far too few jokes and
gags (good, bad, immature or otherwise) to make it worth one's
time.
The story takes too long tothe doors on the company and
spends too little time letting the stars work their dastardly
schemes.
Suddenly around the 40-minute mark -- mercifully the halfway
point -- the laughs dry up. Even the scatological, misogynist and
chauvinist humor is replaced with confusion, homophobia and
boredom.
Not even the blooper reel accompanying the credits is remotely
funny.
Although the end credits are, in a way, the best part of Dirty
Work. -- Tyler McLeod
When one goes into a "Saturday Night Live" spin-off movie starring Norm
Macdonald, one should
not have high expectations. I didn't have high expectations, although
the trailers for Dirty Work
made me laugh hard enough to want to see the movie. Dirty Work is
profoundly dumb, centering
around a ludicrous premise and going way over the line with it. It's
also amazingly funny, filled to the
brim with jokes that actually work and scenes that are unusually
hilarious. Although it's clear that
absolutely no thought was put into the script, it's nice to sit through
a comedy that actually induces
laughter.
Macdonald stars as Mitch Weaver, a loser. He fills his life with odd
jobs, such as delivering pizza.
The film as he gets fired from his job for delivering a pizza two
minutes late. We then see that
his girlfriend kicks him out (even though he offers "dirty sex" to make
up for losing his job). Soon
we meet his best friend, Sam (Artie Lange). They've been best friends
for their entire lives (the film with a funny introduction showing their childhood).
Jack Warden plays Sam's father; in a really silly subplot, it turns out
that he's also Mitch's father. I
have no idea what the point of this is, but it's present in the film and
highly stressed throughout. The
title of the film comes in when Mitch realizes that he can make a lot of
money by charging people to
take revenge on their nemesis. In the required Villain role,
Christopher McDonald (who is now one
of my favorite silly-movie bad guys) has fun hamming it up.
Macdonald co-wrote the film, along with Frank Sebastiano and Fred Wolf,
and though he doesn't
know the first thing about intelligent storytelling, there's something
in the dialogue and his execution of
the lines that makes this film hysterically fun. He always seems to be
on the verge of laughter (I don't
really think he can act), but this only adds to the odd dynamics of the
film. In fact, every time he his mouth, it's funny -- you should laugh excessively at the scene
in which he shouts, "Who's
that dude?"
He also has a strange fixation with prostitutes. The film doesn't go
for ten minutes at a time without
mentioning prostitutes or brining them on screen. By the end of the
film, he's enlisted so many
prostitutes that he can refer to his "loyal army of prostitutes." Just
hearing Macdonald refer to such
things is funny, but I'm not sure why. I think it's just the way he
says it, because, if I referred to my
loyal army of prostitutes, I don't imagine that it would make people
laugh. One of the funniest
scenes in the film has Mitch using a live commercial to advertise his
business; this segment involves a
lot of dead prostitutes in the trunks of new cars.
Like all stupid-but-funny films, it has scenes and subplots that just
don't work. Warden is
disappointing; most of the scenes with him fall flat (although the
picture in the locket is pretty good).
He tries really hard to be funny, but his lines just aren't that good,
and he's a little too over-the-top to
be light and fluffy the way Macdonald is. Lange is also pretty funny,
though overall I doubt he's
much of an actor. And the story is totally ridiculous -- how did they
even come up with it? I
certainly have no idea, but I'd be the first to agree that they took the
premise as far as it could
possibly go, and then further than that.
Dirty Work is stupid and funny. If you want to laugh and not think,
then go see it. I don't see how
you couldn't enjoy it if you like Norm Macdonald, and especially if you
think prostitutes are
inherently funny. I liked it while noting its enormous flaws, and it
passes swiftly enough that you
might not even notice that it's a full-length film. No matter how you
look at it, though, I'm just glad
that I was able to laugh at all. An unfunny comedy is unacceptable, and
Dirty Work is, at least, a
good time. -- Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Dirty Work, the
first film to unite
comedian Norm
Macdonald with
director Bob
Saget, is a pretty
stupid movie. The
plot--in which
Macdonald and
Artie Lange play
obnoxious losers
who found a
revenge-for-hire
business to pay
for crotchety old
Jack Warden's
heart operation
and get back at the
town's most
prominent rich
asshole--is not a
great comic premise. The celebrity cameos are all pretty stale, with the possible
exception of former heavyweight champion Ken Norton's. And the jokes themselves
aren't really funny. But the movie is hilarious, thanks to Macdonald's talent for
unblinking comic delivery, Lange's aptitude for wide-eyed straightmanship, and the
script's bald, unapologetic use of expository dialogue. Having the characters recite
deadpan explanations of exactly what they are going to do in every scene might not
sound funny, but Macdonald makes it work. That's the big secret here: The jokes
might not be funny, but everything else about Dirty Work is an absolute riot. It's a little
heartless, not to mention mindless, and it's certainly not brilliant satire. But Dirty
Work is thoroughly entertaining, and if you like to laugh in the first place, you'll
probably laugh at this. -- John Krewson
You've probably heard the joke that Norm
MacDonald got fired from his "Weekend
Update" gig on Saturday Night Live
because he was just too funny for the
show. And though his feature-film debut,
Dirty Work, directed by Bob (Full
House) Saget, doesn't try to be more
than a dumb, mainstream effort, it is, no
surprise, one of the better movies
featuring SNL alumni. That's thanks to
MacDonald, who has this weird ability to
come up with sharp lines while still
appearing detached from and skeptical of
the stupid proceedings he's supposedly involved in. (Never mind that he was one of the
screenwriters who turned out these particular stupid proceedings.)
In Dirty Work he plays Mitch, an overgrown child whose friend's dad needs a heart
transplant but can't get an organ unless he can bribe a doctor (Chevy Chase). So Mitch starts a
revenge business -- you want to get back at your loud neighbors, call Mitch, and he'll stick
fish all over their house. Of course he falls in love, gets in some trouble, and learns a lesson
along the way to saving "Pops" -- not to mention running into Chris Farley, Adam Sandler,
Don Rickles, and Gary Coleman, who, yes, says, "What'chu talkin' about?" -- Mark Bazer
[ RATING: 1 star (out of five) ]
In theng credits of Dirty Work, I was offered a
proposition that I had little interest in pursuing:
A BOB SAGET FILM.
Saget (formerly star of the massively successful sitcom Full
House and former host of the equally popular America's
Funniest Home Videos) is the epitome of the bland, genial
TV personality. I am unhappy to report that his first film
adheres to the same basic comedic principles that have made
him a superstar.
I will guarantee that if you're an avid fan of America's
Funniest Home Videos and just can't get over the kick you
get out of watching golf balls careening off men's groins, you
will find much to like and admire in Dirty Work. Likewise, if
you thrill to the sight of men clutching their wounded testicles
but find Saget's TV persona too squeaky clean -- in short, if
you never recovered from the devastating hilarity of all those
junior-high homo-and-hooker jokes, this is the film for you.
About half of the gags revolve around forced sodomy, and
most of the rest depend on making disparaging reference to
"whores."
Dirty Work's "plot" concerns two brothers, lifelong losers
(played by Norm MacDonald of Saturday Night Live and
Artie Lang of Mad TV), who learn that their father is dying.
The losers are offered a deal by a heart surgeon (played by
Chevy Chase): if they can come up with $50 thousand in nine
days, the father will get a new heart and be saved. If not,
father will die and bookies will kill the surgeon. Trouble is, the
losers are broke and have no appreciable skills.
That night, however, as the two revenge themselves on a
violent pack of frat guys, MacDonald has a burst of inspiration
ã he decides toup a "revenge-for-hire" business, and
stages a series of publicity stunts which bring him to the
attention of Travis Cole (Christopher McDonald), a millionaire
slum lord. Cole offers to cover the operation if the losers will
destroy a tenement housing project.
So they do, and then Norm likes a girl, and then the girl's
grandma lives in the tenement, and there is a confrontation
with Cole, and a climactic scene involving skunks, the
homeless, an aged pervert, and hallucinogenic brownies. Like
most of the revenge set-pieces in Dirty Work, this scene is
both very long and shockingly unfunny. When it was over, and
the film had stumbled to a shuddering halt, I got up and
bolted. Although there were behind-the-scenes "cookies"
playing over the end credits, few in the audience stuck
around. Most left quickly, with a bemused look. They will not
be recommending this film to friends and co-workers.
The "humor" is irredeemably vile, but perhaps the main
problem with the film is that while the comic leads ã
MacDonald and Lang ã have some charm, Dirty Work gives
them repulsive, unlikeable characters and then asks us to
cheer for them. It's a grave miscalculation.
Of all the recent comedies with mentally diminished
protagonists, few have made this fundamental error. In
Happy Gilmore, Adam Sandler was a dumb, violent jock, but
had an awkward likeability. And though Jim Carrey in Dumb
and Dumber was capable of playing nasty tricks on young
blind children, we were not encouraged to identify with him.
Dirty Work, on the other hand, wants us to root for people
who think the idea of dead prostitutes is inherently funny,
people who demolish a low-income housing unit and make
fun of the homeless. Unsurprisingly, audience reaction was
less than receptive. I heard only a few scattered,
uncomfortable laughs, and the general mood seemed to be
one of boredom and hostility.
While many of Dirty Work's jokes revolve around incest and
sodomy, Saget does not evoke taboo in order to poke fun at
societal hypocrisy, like say a John Waters might. The effect
instead is of children wallowing in their own filth, of an infantile
pleasure in discussing orifices of excretion. If you share this
pleasure, you may find it a deeply satisfying entertainment. -- Bjorn Thomson
[ RATING: 3 stars (out of five) ]
Norm Macdonald's first starring vehicle is a lot like his former news segment on "Saturday Night Live": a hit-and-miss melange of
genius and juvenilia. In this comedy, which he co-wrote, Macdonald plays Mitch, whose motto in life is to "never take crap from
anybody." As a result, he and his lifelong best friend Sam (Artie Lange) have become masters at the art of revenge. The scenarios
depicting the duo's nefarious talents are generally hilarious, from planting dead hookers in an obnoxious auto dealer's cars to playing a
gay porno instead of the intended feature at a movie theatre to get back at an abusive surly boss (Don Rickles). Unable to hold down
regular jobs, Mitch and Sam eventually realize that people would pay good money for the service they are only too happy to provide, andDirty Work Inc.
From here, the laughs become more sporadic as the plot gets saddled with the sort of cliche villain you might find somewhere in the
"Porky's" oeuvre. Though trite and tedious, said villain (played by the usually great and wholly exculpable Christopher McDonald) does,
however, provide the opportunity for Mitch and Sam to get thrown in jail, leading to a brilliantly funny scene in which Mitch reprimands
some fellow inmates who've just sodomized him by calmly but firmly admonishing them "You've lot of growing up to do."
Fans of Macdonald's sly, deadpan sardonicism will be only partly satisfied, yearning for more of the 'dirty deeds done cheap' and less
of the B-movie-caliber story development. -- Christine James
Macdonald need only stay true to Norm
He survived Don Ohlmeyer. Now comes Norm Macdonald 's real challenge.
Can he pass the Saturday Night Live alum big-screen-disaster? Or will he be just one more not-ready-for-Hollywood player?
Early indications are good for the man sacked from his Weekend Update gig for making too many O.J. jokes. Dirty Work is no comic gem (big
shocker; it wasn't screened for the press until Thursday night). But Norm looks like he has the stuff to do a Wile E. Coyote: Suffer the
mishap, get up, brush off the wounds and move on to the next attack.
In Dirty Work, the curly-haired wise guy plays Mitch, whose primary talent is getting knocked around and plotting creative paybacks. Together
with his walking-fat-guy-joke buddy, Sam (Artie Lange), Mitch decides to start a revenge-for-hire business designed to serve the jilted and
conned.
This being a major release, there are altruistic motives as well. (Jeepers, we can't just make a movie about amoral activities, can we?) Sam's
father, played by Jack Warden in horny-old-man mode, has suffered a heart attack and needs a transplant. His doctor (Chevy Chase, apparently
still alive) will pull some strings if the guys can get 50 grand to pay his bookie. Tissues, please.
But Dirty Work knows better than to take the mushy stuff seriously. It laughs and nods at the contrivances, accepting their necessity but
mocking with every step. This is a stupid movie, but it knows its identity as well as anyone.
Logic, coherence and motive are tossed to the wayside early on, replaced by the kind of "who cares?" goofiness you almost have to admire. Any
film with surreal cameos by Gary Coleman, Ken Norton, Don Rickles and a bearded Rebecca Romijn knows its limits, and it has a lot of fun
wallowing in them. And if you're looking for an SNL halfway house - Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Chase, along with quickies from Chris
Farley and Adam Sandler - your stop is next.
But Mr. Macdonald is the one most responsible for seeing this baby through. Dry and self-deprecating, he shows a faux-innocence and sense
of timing that hint at bigger things to come. The droll Weekend Update spontaneity shines through enough to turn small chuckles into genuine
laughs. He knows this is a turkey and he's up front with the baster and stuffing.
Even better, he might be able to use the premise in his real life. Let's see: Spread evil Don rumors with NBC's sponsors? Slip Colin Quinn a
mickey? Give Lorne Michaels a wedgie? The possibilities are endless. -- Chris Vognar
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