Dirty Work had one big problem with it. The producers wouldn’t let it be an R rated movie. They wanted it to be a PG-13 movie so it could be family friendly and appeal to a larger market. But a movie like Dirty Work isn’t meant to be family friendly. A movie like Dirty Work is meant to be offensive, and gross, and full of foul language, and adult humor, and innuendo that just isn’t meant for younger audiences. But the producers wanted to try to make more money. And it ended up costing them in the long run.
But despite that huge hurdle, Dirty Work is still a pretty funny movie. I mean, I’ve always loved it. But as usual, what do I know, right? Critics didn’t like it when it came out. They said it was “juvenile” and “low brow” and full of “generic toilet humor”. Which, I’m not going to lie, there is a bunch of. Artie Lang is specifically sitting on a toilet when a cherry bomb goes off. That’s a scene in the movie. So, you can’t really say that they’re wrong. But that doesn’t make it a bad movie.
What Dirty Work did have was writers who knew how to write a script around Norm Macdonald’s type of humor. And seeing as Norm was one of the writers himself, it’s obvious why it worked so well. When you’re writing your own material, you can act it the way that you’re writing it, too.
They also worked in a part for Chris Farley. Farley’s last film appearance before his death. And they knew exactly how to use Chris Farley. They knew that he should only be on the screen for a little bit at a time. They gave him a bit part. Maybe 3 or 4 total minutes of screen time. And that’s it. But they were intense minutes. And memorable. It’s a great character that really adds to the movie. A character that, if it wasn’t in the script, the movie would definitely be a lot worse without it.
Dirty Work only has a 20% on RottenTomatoes.com, but since it came out in 1998, it has become a cult classic in the comedy genre. And most comedians today will tell you how much they love this movie. It’s a favorite among people in the comedy genre because of its writing and the acting of Norm Macdonald and Artie Lange.
So, yeah. Go and see Dirty Work. You might even learn a thing or two about getting revenge on people. It’s a necessary skill to have in today’s workaday world. Who knows when you might use something like that. But it’s a great movie that’s as funny today as it was when they made it. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…
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