Dirty Work (1998)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Bob Saget

Writers (WGA):

Frank Sebastiano (written by) &
Norm MacDonald (written by) ...

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Revenge is a dish best served DIRTY.

Plot:

A loser finds success in the revenge-for-hire business.

Plot Keywords:

Job | Revenge | Hallucinogen | Bar Fight | Bully

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 16	4:30 PM	COMEDY
Fri. July 17	11:30 AM	COMEDY

Cast

Norm MacDonald	...	Mitch Weaver
Artie Lange	...	Sam McKenna
Jack Warden	...	'Pops' McKenna
Traylor Howard	...	Kathy
Don Rickles	...	Mr. Hamilton
Christopher McDonald	...	Travis Cole
Chevy Chase	...	Dr. Farthing
Bradley Reid	...	Mitch (at 8 Years Old)
Matt Steinberg	...	Mitch (at 16 Years Old)
Joseph Sicilia	...	Sam (at 8 Years Old)
Austin Pool	...	Sam (at 8 Years Old) (as Austin John Pool)
Gerry Mendicino	...	Manetti
A. Frank Ruffo	...	Aldo
Hrant Alianak	...	John Kirkpatrick
Michael Vollans	...	Derek (at 10 Years Old)

Also Known As:

Sale boulot (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #35570) | Iceland:L | UK:12 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

According to Chevy Chase, he was impressed by the original script's raunchy, R-rated, "over the top" tone (particularly a filmed but ultimately cut gag involving MacDonald and Lange delivering donuts that had been photographed around their genitals) and went so far as to tell MacDonald and Lange to not allow any changes. However, the studio insisted on a PG-13 rating and rescheduled the film's release from February to June, where it fared poorly against blockbusters like Godzilla (1998). Unfortunately, no alternate scenes had been shot and the dialogue could only be changed with the actor's re-recording their lines. This may explain why some of the dialogue is dubbed in certain scenes.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Mitch and Kathy are walking towards her mother's apartment building the day before they mess it up, and she confesses to liking him, he says into his recorder "Note to self: Mitch was right!" It should be "Sam was right."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Derek: Hand over the milk money, Weaver.
Mitch: I'm afraid I can't do that, Derek. I'm just not sure you'll spend it on milk.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Artie Roast Ticket Stunts" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Burnout

Why is this film so unappreciated?

"Dirty Work" is hilarious, with that oh-so noticeable SNL humor in it. Norm is at his best here, bringing a combination of his SNL roles to the big screen. I don't understand why this film could go so unnoticed with it's on-target comedy. The only thing I can see wrong is the lacking story line, but that's not what this film was made for. This film was made to be funny, and is just that. One of the best SNL style comedies ever (up there with Wayne's World and Tommy Boy).