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

Color:

Color

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:

Continuity: When Mitch parks his car in front of the movie line, he parks about a yard away from the parking meter. In the next shot, it is in front of the parking meter and when Sam opens the car door, it slams against the meter.

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:

References Moulin Rouge (1952)

Soundtrack:

Good

Very funny under-rated film

"Dirty Work" is a movie with one joke after another. I was shocked to hear this low-brow flick was directed by Bob Saget (Full House). The movie starts off with young Mitch Weaver and his buddy Sam seeking revenge on anybody who crosses their path. Sam's father gets a heart-attack and badly needs money for surgery. Dr. Farthing (Chevy Chase) makes a deal with the boys and if they can cough up a large amount of money to save him from his gambling debt, he will preform surgery on Pops (Jack Warden). Most of the movie is pretty damn funny. Some scenes aren't as funny like "The bearded Lady" scene, which the movie could have done without in my opinion. The highlight in the movie is no doubt Don Rickles role as the abusive manager of a local movie theater. The movie has no real serious parts in it which is OK; I would love to see Norm in more movies. He truly is talented. Good cast. Lots of Cameos by Ex-SNL members, including the late Chris Farley, the man who had his nose bite off by a whore!