Dirty Work (1998) Reviews

• Now They've Made Revenge Funny

  ccthemovieman-12006-02-26

  None of the three young stars of this film - Norm MacDonald, Artie Lange or Traylor Howard - ever became movie stars but they combined to make this a funny film, albeit what I call a lame-brain (somewhat low-class but effective humor) one. This is not an untypical comedy of today: tons of sleazy jokes, sightgags, a lightweight romance story, a generally stupid story and a happy ending.....yet this one was far more appealing than most I've seen. Although the language could be worse, why this isn't rated "R" is beyond me. It is not for teens but I'll bet many of them watched and enjoyed this, as well as older people like me. MacDonald is a very likable guy in the lead. He just has a friendly face and demeanor about him. He makes the film. Lange was a bit loud. I'm glad the film wasn't longer because Lange's constant shouting begins to become grating. As for Traylor, she acted well and was a pretty face. After watching this twice, I wondered why she never made it, but at least she has now found TV fame as the new partner of the hit TV series, "Monk." Two veterans actors in here - Jack Warden and Chevy Chase - play irreverent sleazy roles, something they certainly have done before.....and do well. Warden is brutal as the ultimate dirty old man and Chase is as smug as always. Don Rickles makes a short appearances as his normal obnoxious character and John Goodman makes a cameo near the end. The main story of this movie is a familiar one: revenge, but this time it is played strictly for laughs, and there are plenty. The movie shows revenge isn't just sweet, it can funny. What can you say? The movie is crude, it's sentimental, and it's a fun 82 minutes.

• A movie that allows non-stop comedy....Norm scores big...

  adamst-32005-08-09

  Now when Saget made this film, he wasn't intending on creating an Oscar worthy performance from MacDonald or any of the other funny character ensemble. Whoever it was who would give this film a 4/10 star rating obviously is a one-sided dropout who doesn't realize the true meaning and genius in this movie. It was created for one reason and one reason only. To be funny. And by god it was. The great Chris Farley was only able to make but a few entrances but each time he was on screen, he nailed his part and brought more to the screen than what was on the paper. It is a shame a man of his magnitude was never able to show the world around us everything he was capable of. As for Chevy Chase, some may say his part showed up a little bit dry. Which it did, but this was not because of a poor script. This simply is because Chevy Chase's style of humor is that more of the early to late 70's. His performance overall was pretty good and I personally enjoyed it but the fact is he was unable to creatively fulfill himself in this film. The poor acting is made up for by having a non-stop comedy story board. This film ceases to have a dull moment and this largely can be credited to Norm MacDonald and his very unique style of comedy. Norm has always been a different kind of comedian who has different views on what he believes is funny. In this film, he is successfully able to transfer his hysterical notions to the lucky viewers of this film.

• Beautiful introduction to Norm Macdonald's talents

  Elswet2005-01-31

  Most casual movie-goers do not appreciate the dry, sarcastic wit of Norm Macdonald. Many do not understand that his blunt, sometimes bombastic delivery is his trademark comedic style. While I would never call his style, "genius," he is certainly a master entertainer, in his own right. This style of his is an acquired taste. If you've managed to live your life without becoming the least bit jaded or cynical of anything, you may not understand Mr. Mcdonald's talent for humor. His coloring of even the most innocent scene with a dark innuendo or low-brow blurb is just so outrageous that we have no choice but to laugh. But those who do not understand, will find him abrasive or crass. It's true; he IS abrasive and crass, and in the most unfortunate situations he lets loose his abrasively crass innuendos and utters the most outrageous statements as facts only to correct himself by posing it as a question after he's already blurted out the first silly, obnoxious thing which comes to his mind. All this is assembled together with his honest expressions, common-everyday-Joe appearance, and expert comedic timing. Packaged within unlikely settings and a professional production, Norm Macdonald's comedic style is in the perfect element. Dirty Work enlists the largest range of Norm Macdonald's skills of any one work I have seen. It is virtually a showcase for his talent. Unfortunately, it is commonly viewed as "mindless, low-brow, Hollywood fluff" and will therefore never receive the full appreciation of the audiences it deserves. The casual movie-goer will not be "in" on some of his one-liners, and the hard core comedic fans will be too busy critiquing his innovative comedic style to appreciate it. This work involves Chevy Chase as an unscrupulous in-debt gambler who is willing to help our star out of his latest pickle in exchange for a load of money. I was a tad disappointed with Chevy's role in this vehicle. It could have afforded Mr. Chase's legendary talents a bit more respect by way of screen time. I found his talents were sorely under used although the drivers were pistoned after his specific flair. I did not quite agree with this decision. All in all, this is a beautiful introduction to Norm Macdonald's talents and I highly suggest its viewing. It rates a 7.3/10 from... the Fiend :.

• Norm is hilarious and so is this movie.

  squir1y2000-07-24

  I've always been a big fan of Norm MacDonald and so when I heard about this movie I was happy to see he had his own movie, but I was a little pessimistic because there hadn't been one good SNL alumni movie since Wayne's World. But when I saw it I wasn't disappointed. Mitch (MacDonald) is a loser who just lost his job, his girlfriend, just learned his best friend's father is also his and he takes crap from everybody. So when him and his best friend Sam (Artie Lange) look for jobs they discover their calling: to open a revenge for hire business. Their business turns out to be successful until a greedy rich guy wants revenge for a prank they played on him. Norm was hilarious. I like how straightforward he is with his lines("Settle down prostitutes!";"Hey, homeless guys!"). Artie Lange and Jack Warden were also very funny. Chris Farley and Adam Sandler make funny appearances too. The dead hooker in the trunk and the gay dog gags were priceless. Ignore the critics. Check this out. 9/10

• The funniest stupid comedy ever made

  guyfromjerzee2005-10-13

  Though "Dirty Work" is outrageously low-brow, what makes it work is that it's purely ridiculous, and knows it ridiculous. The problem with most stupid comedies is they try to go for legitimate laughs, and simply come off as ridiculous. Anyone who's familiar with Norm MacDonald's brand of humor shouldn't be surprised. If you hate the guy, you probably won't like this movie, as he did co-write the script as well as being the star. So if you're a Norm-hater, you can stop reading this now. This is one of those movies where no matter how many times I watch it, I'm still able to crack up at the same stupid jokes. There's a ton of lines that I love to quote from the movie. One of those hilarious lines occurs during the "dead hooker" scene. Norm says, "I've never seen so many dead hookers in my life," and a creepy guy in the crowd comments, "Lord knows I have." The Saigon whore line is also hilarious: "And there's the Saigon whore...that bit my nose off! Aaaahhhh!" In the movie, the late and great Chris Farley plays a guy...who got his nose bitten off by a Saigon whore. I know. Pretty self-explanatory. Farley doesn't play a huge role, but he steals the show every minute he's on screen. And of course, there's Norm's great "Maybe you'll feel better after we have some dirty sex" line. I like Norm MacDonald, because he says the most ridiculous things, but delivers them in almost a deadpan fashion. There are, of course, moments in the film that are just plain stupid. And seeing Rebecca Romijn with a beard is too disturbing for my taste. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons in this stupidly hilarious comedy that I hope becomes a cult classic someday. One thing's for sure: You will never see another movie containing a barfight with "The Pina Colada Song" playing on the jukebox.