Film #091 - Dirty Work (1998)
I really like Dirty Work. Your ability to enjoy the film is directly linked to your tolerance level and enjoyment of Norm MacDonald’s comedy, as he pretty much shoehorns in every running gag he’s ever done (except, for some reason, the Germans). Just about everything else is here in abundance: “note to self”, crack whores, even something that often happens among male prisoners that I’d rather not mention in potentially mixed company.
The story is surprisingly deep. Eternal loser Mitch Weaver (MacDonald) finds himself thrown out by the latest in his endless stream of former girlfriends. His best friend Sam (Artie Lange) tries to help out, but soon has his own problems when his father, “Pops” (Jack Warden) suffers a heart attack. Things look bad, but Pops’ physician, Dr. Farthing (Chevy Chase) has a gambling problem and says he’ll get Pops a heart transplant if Sam can raise $50,000. After his near-death experience, Pops decides to confess to Mitch that he is also Mitch’s father, leading Mitch to do all he can to help Sam raise the money. Ultimately, he comes up with a scheme to open a revenge-for-hire business. Things go well (Mitche even seems to have found the perfect girl, Kathy (Traylor Howrd)) until the boys come up against developer Travis Cole (Christopher McDonald) and find that revenge has a way of biting you in the ass.
I said that the story was suprisingly deep. This is not to say that it is on the level of a true drama or anything. It’s just that these kind of goofy comedies rarely present any kind of actual character development and having Mitch come to terms not only with the failures of his life, but his relationship with Pops and Sam gives the film just a bit more in that department than usual.
And Morn does pretty well with it, too. He’s not exactly known for his acting prowess and one of the things I generally like about him is how he’s almost always himself no matter who he’s playing. (Kind of like his Weekend Update predecessor Dennis Miller). But here, probably because he co-wrote the script, it comes off more naturally than usual. Unless you know that it is Norm doeing his regular schtick, you could easily think it was just a nice acting job.
In support, Artie Lange is in the rare position of being the more down-to-earth, regular guy. He is able to handle Sam’s emotional issues pretty well, too. If Dirty Work had done any kind of decent business, I think Artie might have more of a career than the ocasional cameo and The Howard Stern Show. Jack Warden does his usual yeoman’s work as Pops, apparently relishing the opportunity to be the prototypical “dirty old man”. And I really loved Chevy Chase in this film. He seems much more at ease than he has been in recent years and has much of that silly charm that made him a huge star in the lat 70s. Don Rickles is also fun in a small role that he obviously ad-libbed. And then there’s Chris Farley in an uncredited role as a friend of Mitch’s who had the tip of his nose bitten off by a Saigon whore, showing more skill than he often showed in his own films. Other cameos include John Goodman, Gary Coleman, Adam Sandler and Rebecca Romjin.
Those looking for real gross-out stuff will be disappointed that so much of the film is more heart-filled than a film like this has a right to be. There’s a good bit of dirty jokes and the like, but mostly as a side matter. The film doesn’t really dwell on that sort of thing too much. Part of what makes MacDonald’s humor work (when it does) is how he plays up the dirty stuff, thereby robbing it of its shock value. This helps keep Mitch from being an unsympathetic jerk.
But, as I said, whether you like Dirty Work or not really hinges on your taste for Norm. His humor informs the entier film and Norm has to carry the entire production. If you like Norm, you’ll love Dirty Work. If you hate him, there’s no way you will like this film. If you have no opinion of him and have some tolerance of dirty jokes, it might be worth giving it a try.