Review of Dirty Work (1998) by Eric M — 10 Sep 2008

Sam: "Doc, what happened to your foot?

Doctor: What I don't understand is, when you owe a bookie a lot of money and he blows off a toe on your foot, you still owe him the money! It doesn't seem fair.".

Dirty Work is notable on many levels. One of those is not its plot, which is about as realistic as cubism. Macdonald plays Mitch Weaver, a single guy whose life is not exactly going great. The only joy he has ever received is through getting wicked revenge on those who have tormented him. The film opens with a clever montage of eight-year-old Mitch catching the grabby school crossing guard red-handed by putting crazy glue on the seat of his pants. This prank sets an intellectual tone for the rest of the film, which admirably never wavers. As for the plot, Mitch's talent for revenge translates into a revenge for hire business when he and his buddy Sam (Artie Lange) need to raise money for Sam's ailing father. Dirty Work is extremely effective in what it is trying to do, and will appeal greatly to fans of Macdonald, who uses all of his trademark gags to their fullest potential here. Macdonald excels at highly cynical and sarcastic remarks, most often at his own expense. Strangely enough, this film is directed by Bob Saget of Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos fame. Saget is no Woody Allen, but he keeps this film moving at a good pace and his cuts show a good sense of comedic timing. Dirty Work is not a good film artistically speaking, comparing it to classic comedies is pointless.