Dirty Work

My genre is comedy. I’d say that about 75% of the things that I watch are comedies. I like to laugh. And I know that there are different kinds of comedy. From the sharp, witty, intelligent kind of comedy, like South Park, to the stupid, slapstick comedy of the Three Stooges. There’s low-brow comedy, family friendly comedy, romantic comedy, and even buddy comedy. Hugh Jackman is coming out with a comedy where he is a farmer who gets murdered, and the sheep that he owned, find the killer. So, comedy is a spectrum. And Dirty Work is one of those comedies that doesn’t fit into any one of those categories. It’s not intelligent. But it’s not low brow. And it’s definitely not family friendly. And while there is a sort of romantic interest in the movie, that’s not really the point. It’s a comedy. Period, full stop. It’s supposed to make you laugh. And it does. It’s a funny movie. Dirty Work comes from the period when Saturday Night Live was at one of its peaks. An era that it’s only ever seen one or two other times. And that’s important, because Saturday Night Live is the launching pad for so many comedic actor’s careers. Especially in the mid to late 90s.  

Dirty Work is a great movie for so many reasons. One of them is the many quotable lines throughout the movie. With no context, there are lines that are just hilarious. Lines like “well, it could be worse. At least I didn’t get my nose bit off by a Saigon whore…” See? You have no idea what that scene’s about, but you’re probably thinking to yourself “that sounds pretty funny”. And it is. It’s a great scene. But throughout the film, there are lines littered that are just baked into your head that you’ll likely remember because they’re just too hilarious to forget. Mitch makes notes to himself throughout the movie into this little tape recorder that he keeps in his pocket, and because they’re one-liners, it makes them funny. And the script itself, in my opinion anyway, is genius. 

Norm MacDonald is an alright actor, but he’s a comedian, not an actor. I think what makes him great in this movie is the way that he talks, and his demeanor makes the character completely his own. The real actors in the movie are Christopher McDonald, Chevy Chase, and Chris Farley. Christopher McDonald plays a great villain, like he did in Happy Gilmore. He has an air of superiority about him that just makes him the bad guy. And Chevy Chase is a legendary comedic actor. I’ve been over my opinion about how Chris Farley is like a spice, and you should only have him in small doses, because he’s too intense to be a main flavor.  

Bob Sagat directed Dirty Work. And if you know anything about Bob Sagat, and how filthy of a comedian he is, it’s amazing how a script like this turned out so demure. You’d expect something like this to be a lot more prone to language and adult themes. But, it’s actually rather mundane when you think about it. Not that it isn’t funny. It’s a very funny movie. I guess it just goes to show you can use restraint and still make people laugh. 

So, yeah, go and see Dirty Work. It’s a hilarious comedy and a classic from a bygone era. Because we all know there’s nothing funnier than revenge. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…